Transition Period
by AthenaAlpha
Summary: When Uchiha Itachi vanishes, leaving his family’s business in shambles, his younger brother Sasuke finds himself penniless, orphaned, and forced to live with his brother’s abandoned lover. SasuNaruSasu. AU
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

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"…_When officials arrived, the office was in an uproar…." _

Naruto sat on his coach, staring ahead blindly. People rushed around his apartment. He could hear the sound of drawers being yanked and jerked out. He heard questions- and he must have answered them, because they weren't asked again- and someone broke one of his dishes.

"…_.Uchiha Itach, along with several other members of the boar, are still unaccounted for. Authorities are currently searching the Uchiha home, and the home of several of the Uchiha's close and personal friends…" _

A laugh caught in Naruto's throat, coming out as a strangled gurgle. Close and Personal friends, huh? Yeah, that's what they were. Close and _Personal…_

"…_The only member of the Uchiha family, Uchiha Sasuke, was unable to be reached for questioning…" _

Sasuke grabbed the man's hand roughly, pushing him away. Two officers pulled him back.

"That's my room! Stay out of my room!" He snarled, eyes flashing.

"Uchiha-san, you need to calm down…" One of the officers started, holding Sasuke's arm tighter when the boy jerked furiously.

"That's my room. _My _stuff. Go through Itachi's shit! He's the one who…"

"Uchiha-san, if you would please leave the room, we have some questions for you…."

"…_According to reports, after the collapse of the Uchiha Corporation, Uchiha Itachi was around two billion dollars in debt…" _

"…And he never mentioned anything to you? About a summer house, or vacation plans?" The officer's voice was sharp and cold. There was something dangerous in his voice. Naruto wanted to laugh, the bitterness was nearly uncontrollable.

"I told you, he has houses in northern Japan and Tokyo. As far as I know, that's it."

"We searched those houses, Uzumaki-san. Nothing. A man as rich as Uchiha Itachi…He must have had a foreign getaway. The States, maybe? Europe?" Naruto gritted his teeth in irritation.

"If he did, I didn't know about it."

"…_If reports are accurate, Uchiha Itachi pulled at least thirty million from the company before vanishing…." _

"…Go find him then! Stop wasting my time!" Sasuke growled. "You already know he's not here!"

"You are his younger brother, Uchiha-san. You honestly expect us to believe he didn't tell you anything about where he was going?"

"I don't give a damn if you believe me or not! I don't know where he is!"

"…_The Uchiha mansion, along with the Uchiha bonds and other possessions, will be liquidated and used to pay off the excessive debt left in the wake of the Uchiha's disappearance…" _

"As the Uchiha's legal representative, I need to ask that the liquidation process be held off until there is conclusive evidence that Uchiha Itachi doesn't plan to return to Japan." Kakashi demanded, knowing the answer immediately.

"Oh? And what would you consider conclusive evidence? A good-bye note? Be reasonable, Hatake-san." The man was nearly laughing at him. Kakashi's grip tightened on his briefcase.

"With all due respect, Mizuki-_san, _The Uchiha residence is still currently in use. Liquidation would be…"

"You mean by Uchiha Sasuke? Surely the prince of Japan can find a new place of residence." The arrogance in his voice was obvious. This man was smug as hell. Kakashi felt his mouth twist angrily. "He's still a minor, is he not? He'll be entering a temporary house soon, won't he?"

"Not if I can help it." Kakashi snapped, rising to his feet, and quickly leaving the room.

"…_Last night the Uchiha mansion was broken in to and set on fire. Angry families of the lower level management of the Uchiha Corporation have been storming the gates since Sunday, but the authorities have held them off. Uchiha Sasuke has been removed from the residence for his own safety. His current location is unknown…." _

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Author's notes

Yes it's short, but the next chapter will be up really soon, so it doesn't matter.

To address one thing I regret: I mentioned in my last story, _Merging_, I said my next story was going to involve Neji, Gaara, and Sasuke coming on to Naruto. I lied. This story just came out so much easier than that one, so I decided I'd work on both, but post this one first so I could post more regularly.

No anger please? ;)

Sincerely,

AthenaAlpha


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

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"I can't. I can't. Kakashi, please." Naruto was pacing around his apartment frantically. It was still trashed from when the police had ransacked it a week ago. "Don't ask me to do this."

"He has no where else to go, Naruto. What do you expect him to do?"

"I don't…I can't…Gods, Kakashi. I've been getting shoved around, questioned, cornered…"

"How do you think he feels? He can't even go to school without being jumped. His whole life is being jerked around because of Ita…"

"Don't. Don't say his name in _my _house." Naruto snapped angrily. "I've heard enough of his name lately. It's making me sick." Kakashi's eyes softened.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I know this is putting a lot of pressure on you." The older man said softly. "But you're the only person I can trust him with right how."

"What about you? He can't go live with you?" Naruto asked, slumping down into the chair opposite Kakashi's.

"He needs to be in a stable environment. He needs supervision. With Ita…his brother missing, and the cops are everywhere, I'll be all over the place. Besides, he'd never agree to live with me. He's too damn prideful."

"Oh?" Naruto laughed sharply. "And you think he'll agree to come live with me? I'm his brother's ex-lover for god's sake!" Kakashi sighed heavily.

"I'm not saying it will be easy. Knowing Sasuke, he'll make both our lives hell for this. But Naruto, this boy needs you. You know what it's like. Being alone…abandoned…" Kakashi whispered, his only visible eye burning into the side of Naruto's face. The blond scowled heavily.

"That's low, Kakashi." He growled, face contorting painfully. "You're not playing fair." There was an undeniable note of surrender in Naruto's voice that made Kakashi smile.

"I'm a lawyer. I'm not made to play fair." Naruto snarled at Kakashi's smugness.

"Bastard." He growled. "When do you plan on bringing him here?"

"Mmm, let's see…" Kakashi mused, a playful note in his tone. "It's three-thirty…I'm guessing in about five minutes." Naruto rose with a start, blue eyes going wide and shock snapping across his face.

"WHAT!?! What do you mean, FIVE MINUTES!?! You mean….You mean he's….YOU BASTARD!!!" Naruto roared. Kakashi leaned back against his chair, forcing himself not to laugh at the utterly horrified look on the blond's face. Naruto was just too cute when he was shocked. "I'm not ready for a guest! I need…the spare room is trashed…and I don't have a second mattress…Shit, Kakashi! What were you going to do if I had said no?"

There was a knock on the door, and Naruto blanched. Kakashi shrugged and got to his feet, heading in the direction of the door.

"Left him with housekeeping?" Kakashi offered playfully. Naruto followed him, face flushed with annoyance and blue eyes glaring at the taller man's back.

"Dick." Naruto pouted grouchily. Kakashi threw open the door, greeting the two males on the other side joyously.

"Sasuke-kun! You've finally arrived! And Ebisu-san, you look well." The two men glared at him. Sasuke more foully, but there was no denying that Ebisu was _not _pleased with him.

"You're on my list, Hatake." Ebisu grumbled, eyes glowering. Sasuke pushed past Kakashi roughly and spared Naruto only a passing glaring before tossing himself heavily onto the couch. "That boy was a shit-load of trouble." Kakashi just shrugged.

"He's my problem now. Thanks, Ebisu-san, you can go." The other man nodded, cast Naruto a pitying glance, and then split.

Kakashi could feel Naruto's eyes burning into his back. He suppressed a sigh. Well, he was just everyone's favorite person today, wasn't he?

"Soooo, Sasuke, you've brought some of your things?" Kakashi asked, spinning around on his heels. Naruto crossed his hands over his chest and pouted, turning his face toward the kitchen. Sasuke jerked his chin at the door. Glancing back over his shoulder, Kakashi saw a single black suitcase leaning against the wall outside the door.

"Ah, excellent. Uzumaki-san, you wouldn't mind getting Uchiha-san's bag, would you?" Kakashi asked, voice pleasant. "I need to go over some paperwork with him." Naruto gaped at Kakashi.

"You're not serious!" The blond demanded, eyes flashing. Kakashi only shrugged, and walked over to grab his briefcase off the kitchen counter.

"You did say you needed to prepare his room. We'll take a while with the paperwork, you should have plenty of time." Naruto ground his teeth together, steam practically billowing from his ears. After a few minutes of furious glaring, the blond walked around Kakashi, grabbed Sasuke's bag and stormed off down the hall. Kakashi smiled gently. This just might work out.

Kakashi moved over the couch, setting his briefcase on the glass top of Naruto's coffee table.

"You should really thank him, you know." Kakashi commented blandly, picking up several papers from his briefcase and handing them to the silent Uchiha. "He didn't have to take you in."

"You're right. He didn't." Sasuke returned coldly. Kakashi felt a headache coming on.

"You owe him a great debt." Kakashi said, lowering his voice purposely, giving Sasuke a stern look. The Uchiha's gaze grew even sharper.

"I don't _want _to owe _him _anything." Sasuke grumbled. "I was well enough on my own."

"Oh?" Kakashi said, face darkening with irritation. "and just where were you planning on staying, Sasuke-kun? With the rats in the gutter?" Outrage flared across Sasuke's face, and leaped to his feet, upturning the coffee table with a bang.

"Shut the hell up!" He snarled. Kakashi rose to his feet, single visible eye narrowing. Naruto came running in, tan face confused and concerned.

"What's going on?" He demanded, stepping beside Kakashi, his eyes flickering between them. Sasuke rounded on him, dark eyes vicious.

"And you!" Sasuke bellowed. "What are you thinking, taking me in? What, you think it'll make you feel any less guilty?" Naruto's mouth fell open, and he stared at Sasuke without comprehension.

"Guilty?" Naruto murmured, glancing at Kakashi and then back to Sasuke.

"You knew! You had to know! You were _fucking _him, weren't you? Did he give you a cut?" Sasuke snapped, dark eyes burning. "You're nothing but Itachi's little slu-" Naruto dove. In an instant he was over the coffee table and on top of Sasuke. His fist connected with a crunch on the younger male's jaw. Sasuke let out an angry hiss, pushing Naruto off and slamming his knee into the blond's stomach. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's hair, pushing the side of the Uchiha's face into the carpeting while digging his knuckles into his thigh. Sasuke rammed the heel of his palm into Naruto's side, reaching forward to yank Naruto's hand off his head.

Sasuke was pulled back abruptly by the back of his collar. His hair jerked as they were separated and Naruto tried to follow him, blue eyes glowing with fury. Kakashi- Sauske's captor, apparently- pushed his foot against Naruto's chest, just hard enough to keep the blond on the floor as he pulled Sasuke backwards. It only took a minute or so for Naruto to come to his senses, his body going limp and he leaned back against his elbows, breathing hard. Sasuke stood stiff, muscles taunt, preparing to strike. Kakashi's rough grip on his arm kept him stable as he slowly let himself relax.

"Well, congratulations. You're both morons." Kakashi stated, his even tone only amplifying the fury in his expression. "Naruto, go to the kitchen. Drinks. Get us something to drink. Sasuke, sit down." There was only a moment of hesitation from both males before they complied. Sasuke looking annoyed, Naruto looking confused and a bit hurt.

Kakashi gently set the table upright and sat down across from Sasuke, staring down the Uchiha sternly. Sasuke glared back, dark eyes petulant and unapologetic. Kakashi gave him a sharp, cold look that was the equivalent of a scowl with his eyes.

"I am going to tell you this once, and it would be advisable that you listen. Understood?" Kakashi's voice was low and almost deadly. "If you _ever _take that attitude with Naruto again, don't expect me to pull your ass out of the fire. Itachi's actions have not left him unscathed." Sasuke's scowl twisted into a grimace and he looked away. Kakashi's eye narrowed, but he said nothing. Naruto entered a few moments later, carrying a tea tray. He cautiously handed a glass to Kakashi and Sasuke, eyeing the dark haired male warily, as if expecting another insult.

Sasuke stayed silent, turning his head to the balcony window. He made no move to drink, or to speak, simply staring outside with his dark, brooding eyes. Naruto sat down, staring helplessly at his hands. Kakashi felt like sighing. These two, in one room, was potentially fatal. Whose idea was this again?

Heh, oh right. His.

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Sasuke stared into the room with a mix of irritation and exasperation. It was small, _much _smaller than his old room. But that was to be expected. What he hadn't expected was the stacks upon stacks of old photos, shelves full of out-dated photography equipment, and a random assortment of sketches and sculptures that were stacked all over the place. Naruto's rushed attempt to clean up had only resulted in the mess being separated into three sloppy, incomprehensible piles with a shoulder length wide part in the middle. Just big enough for a sleeping bag. Goody.

Naruto let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He cast Sasuke an edgy glance from the corner of his eye. Sasuke's expression stayed blank and unreadable. This only made Naruto feel more uncomfortable.

"I know it's a mess, I uh…I've been using this room to store my older work and I didn't really…I mean…Kakashi didn't give me much time to prepare for you…" Sasuke snickered, and turned to regard Naruto with passive eyes.

"You mean he didn't give you any time." Sasuke drawled. "Are you really that much of a sucker, that he was sure you'd take me in?"

Naruto bristled, scowling at the younger male. For a moment they stared off, blue eyes glittering dangerously while black eyes remained infuriatingly placid. In the back of his mind, Naruto was aware that the Uchiha was probably only doing this to rile him. Pissing people off seemed to be the Uchiha's only hobby.

"I know it must be a shocking revelation for you to learn that all people aren't heartless bastards." Naruto grumbled, teeth gritted. "Being that you Uchihas seem to be made of ice." This seemed to get Sasuke's attention, because his eyes narrowed. Naruto tensed, expecting an attack.

"Chhh, whatever, dobe. I'll take the couch until you can manage a decent bed." Sasuke grumbled, bumping Naruto's shoulder slightly as he passed, heading back into the main area. Naruto let out a low sigh of relief…and despondency. Kakashi owed him big time for this….

Naruto took his time following Sasuke. Being around the younger Uchiha was uncomfortable and more than a little frustrating- and not only because of his oh-so-charming demeanor. Being around Sasuke brought back uncomfortable memories that Naruto had been trying so desperately to forget.

Memories…Of _that _man.

Itachi…..

Naruto shook his head, as if trying to push away such thoughts by sheer force. This was the last thing he wanted to have to think about right now…

"…Pillows?" Naruto's head shot up, and he found himself looking into curious black eyes.

"Uh…I'm sorry. I didn't catch that…" Naruto murmured, glancing around as if the room would catch him up on the conversation that he had clearly missed.

"Do you have any pillows? Your couch is practically made of stone, and I didn't exactly get a chance to pack my bed when my house went up in smoke." Sasuke clarified, crossing his arms over his chest and giving Naruto an expectant look.

"Uh…Yeah…Just let me go get one of the extras…" Naruto murmured, still feeling slightly out of it. He moved across the room, and slid through the door that was across from Sasuke. His bedroom. Shuffling through the mess of blankets- Naruto was a restless sleeper- Naruto dug out one of his pillows.

Upon seeing the slightly rumpled pillow in Naruto's hands, Sasuke gave Naruto a dark glance.

"You don't have fleas, do you? I'd hate to get diseased because you don't have a spare pillow." Sasuke commented, taking the pillow and looking it over carefully. Naruto glared.

"If you're so freakin' worried about it, take off the coverlet, God." Naruto grumbled, rolling his eyes. Sasuke threw him a dirty look and yanked off the faded orange pillow cover, tossing it back at the blond with no small amount of contempt. "Better?" Naruto's voice was sarcastic, and he held the cloth to his chest with an almost child-like protectiveness. Sasuke spared him a glare that reeked of condescension and arrogant amusement.

"Not even a little." He muttered, flopping down on the couch hard, causing the springs to creak. Naruto clenched his fists, turning abruptly on his heel and marching into the kitchen. He needed sake….

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Author's Notes

I can't believe this week took so _long _to end! And it's still only Thursday! I miss vacation already….

I was wondering if anybody new of any good Naruto YouTube videos? I've been trying to hunt some down, but I haven't found any good ones in a while. Very sad.

So if anybody knows of any that are funny/cute/yaoi-delicious or whatnot, do tell.

Hmm….That appears to be all I have to say….No matter. Nobody reads this for the author's notes, anyway. You all read for my clever plots and witty dialogue. Right?

_Right?_ (Looks around suspiciously)

AthenaAlpha (Can I get a woot woot?)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

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Naruto had a job the next morning. He was doing headshots for an old friend of his who had an interview with a magazine that was shooting an ad for shampoo. This meant that he had to have his camera, two rolls of film, and his lap top and be out the door by seven. This in turn meant that he had to be up at six. Which is why, at six-thirty, Sasuke nearly flew off the couch when a strangled yowl erupted from Naruto's room.

For a moment Sasuke panicked, confused and disoriented. Where was he? What was that noise? What was going on!?!

Then Naruto's door flew open, and a disheveled (and bare-chested) blond came stumbling into the main room with a blanket twined around his legs. Scowling, the blond shook his legs wildly to free himself.

"Damn alarm. Stupid, idiotic alarm…" Naruto snarled, practically diving into the bathroom. Sasuke sat up on the couch, hair falling wildly around his face. He glared at the bathroom door for a few minutes, as if trying to burn a hole through the wood. This had bad day written all over it.

As if on cue, Naruto's phone rang.

"SASUKE!!! COULD YOU GET THAT!?!" Naruto bellowed, the faint sound of a shower running could be heard in the background. The Uchiha shot a withering glare at the door and rose to his feet, nearly groaning at the stiffness of his muscles. The phone continued to ring, mocking him with its shrill shriek. Sasuke stumbled awkwardly in the direction of the phone, snatching it aggressively off the cradle.

"_What?_" Sasuke growled. Rubbing his temple with his free hand. God, his head was _throbbing._

"Well, good morning sunshine." A familiar voice drawled, thick with sarcastic amusement. Sasuke's lip curled.

"_Kakashi_." Sasuke hissed, casting a look at the bathroom door in hopes that Naruto would come out and relieve him of what was sure to be an unpleasant conversation.

"Sasuke. Sleep well?" Kakashi asked slyly, and Sasuke knew he was smirking on the other end of the line.

"Like there was even a chance of that." Sasuke grumbled. "Do you want something?"

"Actually, yes. I got a call today from a detective wanting to know if your brother…" Sasuke hung up. Kakashi's sentence died into silence and Sasuke gripped the phone hard. The shower turned off. The phone rang again. Sasuke answered.

"What?" Sasuke snapped dangerously.

"That's no way to end a phone call, Sasuke-kun." Kakashi chastised. "You really should learn manners."

"I will _not _speak to you about him, do you understand?" Sasuke said, voice slow and even as he ground his teeth.

"It's me, or it's someone else, Sasuke. You'll have to talk about him eventually."

"Like Hell!" Sasuke spat. The calm tone of Kakashi's voice was irritating.

"He laundered money, Sasuke. A _lot _of it. Do you honestly expect to ignore that?" Kakashi asked, voice growing slightly stern.

"It is _not _my problem." Sasuke snapped. "I do _not _have to deal with this."

"Don't be a fool, Sasuke! Things like this don't just go away!" Kakashi growled, anger causing his voice to hitch. "The police are already pushing me to interview you! If you deny them, they'll find a way to punish you. You do _not _want to be made out as an accomplice." Kakashi warned.

"I had nothing to do with this! With _any _of it!" Sauske felt a strange emptiness weight on him. It wasn't right. It was un_fair. _This was _his _life. Didn't Itachi control enough without taking over Sasuke's existence?

"It's not fair, Sasuke, I know. But you are not the only one Itachi has hurt in this. Maybe if you'd get your head out of your ass, you'd realize that." Kakashi said softly. "Just look around and you'll see what Itachi left behind." Sasuke opened his mouth to respond, but was met with a dial tone. Kakashi had hung up on him.

"Asshole. What is he trying to…" Sasuke cut himself off abruptly when the bathroom door slammed open and Naruto came out, hair mussed from the shower, chest still bare and dripping. Naruto had on jeans, but he had neglected to button them, revealing the long stretch of his abs until they vanished into orange boxers. Sasuke's mouth opened slowly, but no noise came out.

"Shit, who was that? Not Sakura right? It's only a 6:45, I'm not late yet! Did she sound pissed? She's crazy when she's pissed…" Naruto rambled, shaking the wrinkles out of his shirt frantically. Sasuke shot the shirt a suspicious look, wondering how many times it had been worn previously without being washed…

"It was Kakashi." Sasuke responded absently, still trying to get Kakashi's voice out of his head. For some reason, the words '_what Itachi left behind' _kept echoing through his head as he unconsciously followed a bead of water down Naruto's firm chest.

"What the hell did he want?" Naruto muttered, mostly to himself as he began to tug the still slightly wrinkled shirt on over his head.

"Nothing _you _could do anything about." Sasuke grumbled, sounding slightly bitter. Naruto shot him a nervous look as he straightened his clothes out, and buttoned up his jeans. Sasuke purposely ignored any concern on Naruto's face, not wanting to talk about it- especially with the man who used to take it up the ass from his brother.

"Oh-well…I guess I'll go then- I have a shoot today." Naruto murmured, still casting Sasuke edgy looks. "How about you? Do you need a lift to school or something?" The Uchiha shrugged.

"I was asked to leave school." Sasuke turned toward Naruto's kitchen- or, as much of a kitchen as it was. It was basically a fridge, an oven, and a small white table split from the living room by a long counter. Sasuke hoped there was at least food in the white, dinged up excuse for a refrigerator…

"What?" Naruto stopped his frantic movements abruptly. He had a bad habit of leaving his equipment in various places around his apartment. He'd probably need to stop that now that he shared his apartment with a seventeen year old…

"I was attending The Sound Academy for the Gifted." Sasuke drawled out. Naruto just stared at him, as if not understanding. "You know- Gifted meaning wealthy. I'm not exactly welcome there any more."

"They can't just make you leave school." Naruto said, brow crinkled as he took in Sasuke's cynical tone.

"You really are a fool. This school runs off tuition. I can't even afford my lexis, let alone school." Sasuke snapped, feeling the day growing worse with each person with which he was forced to make conversation. Who was next….Maybe his father would come back from the grave and sit him down for 'the talk'….

"You're not just _not _going to school." Naruto said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You'll go somewhere else, right?" Sasuke gave Naruto an amused look.

"Oh, sure. I'll just go to public school. After all, the Uchiha's are really popular with the working folk right now." There was no denying the note of resentment that tinged Sasuke's voice. Naruto bit his lip, wondering for the first time how Sasuke really felt about all this. It was so easy to think that Sasuke was just feeling sorry for himself, that all he cared about was not being welcome in the yacht club or not having his own tropical resort. But was that really all there was to him?

"Right. I get it. The mob has its pitchforks sharpened." Naruto said with a sigh, raking his fingers through his hair. He glanced nervously over at the clock and made a face. "Look, I have to run, okay? We'll talk about this later." Sasuke just shrugged again, looking less than excited at the prospect. Grabbing his wallet and keys, Naruto cast a last glance in Sasuke's direction, but the Uchiha had his back to him and was rifling absently through his fridge.

"Um…Do you need money for take out or something? I don't have much food here…" Naruto offered, flipping open his wallet and frowning a bit when all he saw in it was empty. Sasuke shot him a cold look, scowling slightly.

"I'm not a beggar." Sasuke snapped. "I can still feed myself." The vulnerability of Sasuke's earlier admission was weighing down on him suddenly. Naruto was the enemy again and Sasuke couldn't stand that look in his eye. Pity. Like Sasuke needed it.

"Fine. Don't get snappy." Naruto returned, shoving his wallet into his pocket. "I'm leaving then." The blond hesitated for a moment, as if expecting Sasuke to say something. The Uchiha remained silent, however, and the tension was building to a dangerous level. Naruto ducked out the door as fast as possible- he was late, Sakura was crazy, and there was just no talking to an angry Uchiha.

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"IDIOT!" Naruto winced and covered his ears. Damn, Sakura could sure yell. He was almost positive he had some kind of permanent damage to his eardrums thanks to his pink haired counterpart. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!!! THIS COULD BE MY BIG BREAK AND YOU SHOW UP LATE!!!" Naruto slunk into a nearby bench outside of the studio and just let the girl rant. It would take about ten minutes for her to wind down, but Naruto was patient and knew his friend well. Rushing her or trying to calm her down would only agitate her further.

"You have your equipment?" Sakura grumbled finally, after her bellowing was finished. Naruto nodded, rubbing the lump that was forming on his head from where Sakura had decked him. Psycho-bitch.

"Alright, let's go." Sakura added, still looking irritated. Naruto grabbed his bag and stood, trying to emit vibes of apology and calm. As if sensing this, Sakura rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest while huffing. Naruto smiled cutely, trying his best to look innocent. Sakura was _so _not buying it.

"Is Ino here today?" Sakura asked curiously.

"No. She's doing some private work for a company down town that's putting together a portfolio for some hot-shot soccer player." Naruto said with a shrug, digging out his keys and unlocking the large steel door. He shared the studio with two other artists- Sai, a painter who specialized in erotic-stills (which Naruto thought was just a sly way of saying porn), and Ino, a computer art specialist who touched up a lot of Naruto's photos.

"Aww. I was hoping she could touch up my bangs. You know how I hate my forehead." Sakura pouted. Naruto rolled his eyes, careful not to let the girl see. Yes, he knew. She had been obsessed with it since she was six. Personally Naruto didn't see what the big deal was. If he was straight, he'd be on her in a second. All the straight guys he knew had the hots for her as it was.

"I can email them to her if you want. I'm sure she won't have a problem getting them ready by tomorrow."

"Really? Awesome! I could really use the extra edge. This commercial could be…."

"Your big break. Yeah, I know." Naruto interjected, grinning. "You're gorgeous, Sakura. I'm sure you'll get it." The pink haired woman hesitated, casting Naruto a thoughtful look. Then came her winning smile. The one where her green eyes lit up and her whole face warmed. The smile that Naruto was positive would make her a millionaire one day.

"Well, yeah, I suppose." She said dreamily. "Should we get started?" Naruto nodded, leading her in the direction of the back room. The room wasn't set up for headshots and spliced pictures- pictures in which unusual backgrounds were added in with computer software. The backgrounds were too dark, Naruto would have to shift the lighting to make up for it.

"You know, you don't have to keep coming to me. Headshots aren't exactly my specialty, you know." Naruto said it as an apology. Sakura bopped him on the head and gave him her trademark eye-roll.

"Don't be silly. I've never had any photographer capture me the way you do. I've always liked your pictures best." She began to strip, pulling new clothes out of her bag. She always did this, ever since she found out Naruto was gay. She said it was like a bonus- she could appreciate his ripped abs and sexy smile, but all he'd ever get from her sexy physique was good photos. "Unless, of course, you're getting sick of me?" She teased, tossing him a playful smile.

"Of course not! I just want to make sure you're not throwing me work out of pity or something." Naruto offered, a note of sadness tingeing his tone.

"Why would I do that? You've been getting plenty of work. Don't you have that gallery coming up?" Sakura asked, checking her hair and makeup carefully in the mirror Naruto had put up especially for her.

"I-I don't know if I'll have that anymore." Naruto said softly, pretending to check the dials on his camera to avoid looking up. He could feel Sakura's eyes on him.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't you?" Sakura demanded, putting her hands on her curvy hips and narrowing her eyes.

"The guy who's running it was the guy who supplied the Uchiha corporation with western art for the new branch in Tokyo." Naruto murmured. "He was an associate of _Itachi's_." Naruto bit out, face twisting slightly with frustration.

"So you think this business with Itachi is going to hurt your chances of getting work?" Sakura demanded. "That's ridiculous! You're talented! Itachi has _nothing _to do with that!" Her words should have been reassuring, but Naruto wasn't sure he could afford to be that optimistic. This could _ruin _him. What was he supposed to do?

It didn't seem fair. I didn't seem fair.

Itachi controlled everything else. How dare he control his life?

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Author's Notes

I found a cool Doujinshi site for SasuNaru work. http:// sasuxnaruislove.snowfaerie. net/projects.php?pagepage1# awill

It's absolutely fabulous! Be warned, thought, some of it is a bit….yummy…er, I mean, rated R. Some totally cute stuff too. I love it.

It's also got the story Spiral Falling by Becca Amon posted on it, which is an amazingly well written AU SasuNaru.

I also want to give out the link to the authoress QuestofDreams website, because her full stories for Conviction (which is one of my top ten favorite fics), Parallel (One of the few parallel-universe Naruto fics I actually enjoyed), and many others.

http:// questy. /images/main.jpg

For now this is all I have to contribute to my beloved SasuNaru supporters. I hope you enjoy the fruits of my hours of internet surfing.

Happiness and Joy to everyone!

…but extra for me! Bwahahahahaha!

Sincerely,

Who else? Wink


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

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Sasuke had always been busy. Even when school was out, he always had something to do, somewhere to be. Yacht parties with the sons of rich businessmen, dates with desperate young women who wanted the chance to show him off, vacations in the Bahamas….

He'd always thought he was bored. After all, none of those silly twittering girls had ever interested him. Outings with jet-setting rich boys had been redundant and mentally trying. He had thought he had been irritated. He had thought he had been uninterested.

He hadn't known what boredom was.

He'd successfully spent the last six hours doing absolutely nothing. Some would say he'd been watching television, eating, doing various meaningless tasks throughout the day, but he knew the truth. He had done _absolutely nothing_. It was mind numbing.

"I have got to get out of here." Sasuke groaned, laying across the couch and staring despondently at the ceiling. It was mocking him. The stupid design kept shifting, he was sure of it. It was _testing him_. Stupid ceiling.

He was desperate at this point. He would have settled for _anything_.

The phone rang in his ear and it took a great deal of willpower for Sasuke to get up to answer it. His muscles seemed to have disintegrated in the last six hours.

"msmg'elllo?" Sasuke muttered voice thick.

"Just finished napping?" The blond's voice was chipper and warm. It made Sasuke want to gag.

"No." Sasuke snapped. "I've been up all day."

"O-oh. Sorry." Naruto murmured. Great, now he had hurt the dobe's feelings. He could hear it in his stupid, puppy-that's-been-kicked voice. "I thought- you sounded like you just got up…"

"Just tired. Not much to do here." Sasuke offered carefully, doing his best to weigh his words. The last thing he needed was to make the dobe cry or something. "Finished your…work thing?"

"Yeah! It went great!" Naruto had an amazing ability to rebound. He went from down-and-out to Mr. Sunshine in no time. "It's always so easy with Sakura. I don't think it's possible to take a bad picture of Sa-"

"Was there a reason you called?" Sasuke interrupted sharply, wincing a bit at the harshness of his words. He really wasn't _trying _to be an ass.

"Oh…yeah. I was just wondering if you were hungry, you know? I have some time before my next job and I could bring you something." The slight crack of static on the phone caused Naruto's voice to sound crisp, bringing out the edginess in his voice.

"I guess. Whatever." It was as much of a yes as Naruto could hope to get.

"Okay, good. Yeah. What do you eat?"

"I don't know. Anything." Sasuke mumbled. He knew what he used to eat. But the kind of high class dining he was used to was no longer an option…

"Okay. I'll just…Pick something…I'll be there in about a half-hour, I have to drop off some old black-and-whites."

"Whatever."

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Sasuke studied it wearily, poking and prodding at it like a scientist deeply entrenched in research. It squished and oozed as he shoved his chopsticks into it again and again. His dark eyes narrowed with suspicion and he shot Naruto a dubious look. Naruto's shoulders slumped and his hair seemed to go limp, like a dog whose tail was beneath its legs. Sasuke repressed a sigh and shoved a noodle into his mouth. Hot liquid filled his mouth and a slightly pleasant but bland taste hit his tongue.

He cast a guarded look at Naruto and made a show of leaning back with a disinterested expression on his face. He took another bite lazily, as if to remind Naruto that he could do better, but didn't toss it aside. Naruto let out a little breath of relief.

"Do you eat this often?" Sasuke muttered, lying slack against the back of the couch, the dish resting on his thighs as he ate. It was quite new, eating like this. So….casually.

"All the time! I love it!" Naruto chirped, shoving a large clump of noodles into his mouth messily. "Ish mhy favorish." A bit of sauce ran down his chin as he talked, leaving a shiny trail down from his mouth. Sasuke cringed a bit, staring down in his dish at his wavy, slightly yellowed reflection.

"It's a pool of salt and fatty oils." Sasuke grumbled. "It's like a heart attack in the making." Naruto froze mid-mouthful. He shot Sasuke an annoyed glare.

"Ramen is the best! Don't diss Ramen!" Naruto snapped defensively. Sasuke rolled his eyes. This only seemed to enrage Naruto further. His hair stood on end and his eyes narrowed.

"Not everyone eats with a silver spoon, you know." The blond hissed. "I eat what I like, isn't that good enough?"

"I guess ignorance can't be persecuted." Sasuke drawled. "You just don't know any better."

"Why you arrogant little shit!" Naruto snarled, slamming his ramen onto the table and getting to his feet. "You really think you are so much better than me, don't you!?!"

"If the shoe fits." Sasuke snapped defensively. Naruto towering over him made him suddenly feel threatened, like he was being backed into a corner. He sat up straight, keeping his back locked stiffly and his dark eyes steady and focused on the angry blond.

"Bastard!" Naruto slammed his fist against the table, blue eyes flaring to life. Anger and resentment smeared across his face. Sasuke felt something dark welling up inside of him, a dark veil across his eyes and a cold rage taunt through his muscles.

It was Itachi's presence. Sasuke recognized it immediately- it was a shadow he had been encompassed by since the day he was born. Between them the shadow grew, piercing and staining. It twisted them both to its whim, turning them into contorted fun-house-mirror versions of themselves. It turned them into scared animals, striking out at each other while their predator crept up from behind.

It made them helpless.

This revelation seemed to reach Naruto as well, because he suddenly deflated. His anger burnt itself out, vanishing into despondency and depression. He sank back into his chair, looking lifeless, face worn. Sasuke, for his part, sat stiff and silent, as if still bracing himself for an assault. Silence grew between them, strained and so painfully obvious.

Naruto reached out slowly, picked up his dish, and began to eat slowly and without animation. Sasuke followed soon after, mindlessly finishing the contents, all in silence.

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"I don't know what to do with this kid, Kakashi! He's everything that Itachi was- cold, apathetic, aloof, spoiled, disdainful, unsympathetic- yet he's so…._not _Itachi." Naruto growled, raking his fingers through his hair roughly. Kakashi leaned back on his chair, lighting a cigarette absentmindedly. He immediately extinguished it when Naruto shot him a rather vicious look. "I know it's not fair, but every time he opens his mouth I feel like Itachi's voice is going to come out." Naruto added softly, staring down at his interlocked fingers.

"You're being too hard on yourself." Kakashi chastised gently, patting Naruto's head playful. The blond swatted his hand away with a scowl. "You've got a lot to deal with right now and Itachi is the cause. It's no surprise he's on your mind."

"It's not Itachi _being on my mind _that bothers me. It's the way I'm letting it affect the way I treat Sasuke. What Itachi did hurt Sasuke just as much as it did me. More, actually, because he'll never stop being an Uchiha." Naruto grumbled, rubbing his face roughly with his hands. A thoughtful look crossed Kakashi's face. Naruto was so different from normal people, the way he moved other people's feelings before his own seamlessly, not even seeming to realize he was doing it. Empathy was Naruto's greatest weakness.

Kakashi wished more people would be weak like Naruto.

"Maybe you just need to get it out of your system." Kakashi commented, rather dejectedly putting his pack of cigarettes away. "You haven't really given yourself much of a chance to vent, you know."

"Oh, yeah, because between my job, the press, the police, and my new duties as _babysitter_ I've had a lot of time to vent." Naruto snapped crossing his arms across the table and laying his head against the curve of his arms. Kakashi frowned and leaned back in his chair, stirring his coffee aimlessly. He couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

Just a little.

"Is there anything I can do?" Kakashi offered, trying to sound as warm and understanding as possible. Naruto sighed and cast the older man a dark glare. If it were that easy, Naruto would just ask him to take Sasuke on himself. But Naruto knew better than to think Kakashi was going to go easy on him.

"Just keep pretending to be sympathetic." Naruto muttered, sitting up and leaning his hand into one palm. Kakashi smiled slightly, his eyes curving upward with amusement. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Is there anything else you boys need?" The waitress asked, pouring more coffee into Kakashi's still nearly full glass until it sloshed a bit and dripped on the table. Naruto smiled up at her, ignoring the way Kakashi was glaring at the small puddle on the table suspiciously. The waitress smiled back, green eyes fluttering playfully.

"Not right yet, but we have another person coming." Naruto informed her, holding his cup out for her to top off.

"Your girlfriend?" The woman asked casually, dabbing at the spilt coffee absently with a napkin. Kakashi rolled his eyes over the woman's arms. Naruto just smiled wider.

"Nope, just a friend. I haven't had a girlfriend in years." Naruto reported cheerily, leaning forward a bit as he spoke.

"Oh, I find that hard to believe. A good looking man like you." She responded, reaching out to touch Naruto's shoulder. Kakashi raised his eyebrows. This one wasn't shy.

"Believe it. Haven't had a girlfriend since…"

"He came out of the closet." A new voice drawled. Naruto and Kakashi looked up, past the startled looking waitress who was shooting Naruto alarmed looks. Shikamaru just leaned back casually, waiting for her to move so he could sit down. She shot both Shikamaru and Naruto cold looks and walked away haughtily, purposely shoving Shikamaru as she walked by. Naruto had a suspicious feeling she wouldn't be back.

"You ruin all my fun." Naruto pouted as Kakashi chuckled in the background. Shikamaru seemed less than interested, sliding down into the booth beside Kakashi.

"You're lucky it was me and not Sakura. You know how she is about you flirting with women." Shika drawled, slouching against the booth absently. Naruto winced and sipped his coffee sheepishly.

"Good point." He grumbled, rubbing the back of his head. "But it's not like I'm doing any harm."

"You say that from the perspective of a gay man. Think how it must be for the straight woman." Shikamaru retorted, swiping Kakashi's coffee from under his nose.

"Yeah, imagine how you would feel if you were flirting with a hot guy and found out later he was straight." Kakashi chimed in, casting his usurped coffee a quick, longing glance before abandoning it. Getting Shika to give up a cup of coffee was the equivalent of getting Naruto to give up Ramen. Naruto sighed.

"Alright! Alright! I'll be a good little boy." He offered, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "So what did you guys call this little meeting for, anyway?"

Kakashi and Shikamaru shared a look, their expressions hesitant and cautious. Naruto immediately stiffened, eyes growing apprehensive. Shikamaru frowned and looked away, drinking lightly from Kakashi's mug. Kakashi straightened up, looking unusually serious. Alarm bells went off in the back of Naruto's head.

"Okay, what's up? What's going on?" Naruto demanded, glancing between the two. "Spill." Shikamaru let out a sigh that Naruto knew was the equivalent of saying "so _troublesome_".

"Kakashi asked me to look into Itachi's whereabouts." Shikamaru's voice was calm but distant, the ways he always got when talking about work. Shikamaru, for all his faults, was a complete professional.

"To look into….Where? Why? H-how? I mean, the police, they're everywhere, and…" Naruto's words came out awkwardly, reflecting how stunned he felt. Shikamaru was after Itachi? When had that happened?

"In matters such as these the police are more of a hindrance than anything else. A massive group that all follow similar rules and codes, confined by troublesome laws and loopholes. Private Investigators have more...liberty with regulations and restrictions." Shikamaru offered softly. "I've been looking into Itachi since June." Naruto stiffened, blue eyes flaring with confusion.

"June? But…that was three months ago. He didn't go missing until two weeks ago. I don't understand." Naruto's flickering gaze grew a bit more frantic. Guilt flickered through both Kakashi's eyes and Shikamaru's.

"Kakashi asked me a few months ago to look into Itachi's money laundering. He wanted to make sure Sasuke's inheritance was still in tact." Shikamaru was trying to sound comforting, but to Naruto it just sounded patronizing.

"You knew? You both knew?" Naruto's voice quavered. "The whole time?" A sick, heavy feeling was building up in his stomach.

"Naruto, we had no idea what Itachi was planning. We thought he was skimming money off the business for personal expenses. We never thought he would…" Kakashi started gently. Naruto got to his feet, legs trembling slightly beneath him.

"But you suspected. You knew he _could_. You never told me? How could you?" Naruto turned his head back and forth between them, trying to understand. They were his friends. Kakashi, maybe, as Itachi's lawyer…but Shikamaru? How could he keep this from him? They had been friends since high school!

"Naruto-" There was something understanding and apologetic in Shikamaru's voice that Naruto couldn't acknowledge right then. Not when his head was spinning and his eyes were prickling suspiciously.

"You knew he was going to leave me." Naruto turned, nearly running into the waitress he had been flirting with earlier as he half-ran, half-stumbled from the restaurant. He didn't see Shikamaru rise to follow him, only to be held back by Kakashi. He didn't see Kakashi's gray eyes follow him as he vanished out the door, and he didn't see the tall, slender figure sitting on one of the tables on the veranda rise to follow him.

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**Author's notes!!!!**

Okay, this has been one busy week, so I'm going to make my notes short (for me, anyway).

For those of you who had trouble accessing the links I posted in my author's notes last chapter, I will be putting them on my profile so check there if you're interested.

Many of you have asked about the age difference. I will be establishing that soon, but to give you a rough estimate: Sasuke is about sixteen or seventeen (I haven't quite decided yet) and Naruto is about twenty-two or twenty-three. They'll be about five or six years apart, no more.

Thanks for all the lovely reviews! You guys are awesome! Happiness and joy

Check out my C2: Fight for the Ultimate Uke for some really awesome Yaoi Naruto fics. I just added "The Thief" which is really well written.

Thanks for reading!  
AthenaAlpha


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

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Naruto spent the rest of the evening wandering around. He liked to walk- it helped him clear his head. It also helped him get to know the neighborhood. He knew where to get the best of anything, from coffee to foreign foods. He also knew every short cut and 'secret' exit.

By the time he felt ready to return home it was around eleven. Naruto hoped that that would mean that Sasuke would already be asleep. He wasn't sure he was ready to face the young Uchiha. Part of him felt obligated to tell Sasuke what had happened- that Kakashi had suspect Itachi all along. Sasuke deserved to know that whatever Itachi had been doing, he'd been doing it a while. Nothing had been spur of the moment; nothing had been done in a state of panic.

Itachi had planned everything.

It hurt, knowing that Itachi had knowingly planned on abandoning him. In retrospect, he had misplaced some of that hurt on Shika and Kakashi, but they deserved their own little piece of the anger. They _had_ lied to him.

"Rough night?" Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin at the soft, cool voice that assaulted him the second he opened the door. The apartment was pitch black except for some light coming off of the television. He couldn't see Sasuke-which is why he jumped again when a hand touched his shoulder. He whipped around, making out the glitter of Sasuke's dark eyes.

"Are you a vampire or something? Can't turn on any lights?" Naruto joked feebly. Sasuke moved forward until the glow of the television brought out his pale skin. For a moment Naruto's heart jumped into his throat. Sasuke definitely had his brother's beauty.

"Kakashi called here. Told me everything." Sasuke commented coolly. Naruto felt the bottom of his stomach fall and his mouth grew dry.

"Oh."

"He warned me you might not be home till later. I made dinner. All you had was some rice and chicken, so I did the best I could." Sasuke continued, turning away and walking over to the kitchenette. Naruto winced a bit when Sasuke flicked on the oven's overhead light. Naruto followed slowly, watching the back of Sasuke's head wearily.

"Do you want me to heat it up?" Sasuke demanded, turning to give Naruto a bored, impatient look. Naruto felt immensely edgy, trying to understand the odd tension in the air.

"Uh, sure. Yeah, that would be great. Thank you." Naruto murmured distantly, shifting uncomfortably and staring meekly down at his feet. Sasuke nodded to himself and turned the stove on. Naruto sank slowly down into a chair beside his table, facing Sasuke's back. "Did you….Kakashi told you everything?" Naruto asked softly, tracing the younger boy's messy black spikes with his eyes.

"About how he had that PI track Itachi's spending habits for months? Yeah." Sasuke grumbled, stirring at the food gently, trying to keep the rice soft. It was probably already a lost cause- he'd made it at eight. It was probably going to be stale. "I guess I owe Kakashi. If it wasn't for him, I'd probably be even more broke than I am now." Sasuke added dryly. Naruto bit his lip, staring down at his fingers, spreading them across the table.

"I guess it didn't do you any good, huh?" Sasuke drawled. Naruto traced around his palms and fingers with his other hand.

"I guess not." Naruto agreed softly.

"Living with Itachi is the equivalent of living with alcoholism." Sasuke continued. "You feel drawn to it, you may even enjoy it. But then you wake up the next morning with a pounding headache and wondering where your life went."

Naruto's heart gave a hard thud. It was painful, to hear someone- especially Itachi's brother- talk about him like that. It caused a strange kind of feral protectiveness in him. But it was the most accurate description of the past week he had ever had.

"It's ready. Here." Sasuke handed Naruto a plate. The rice was indeed stale and the chicken was tough. It was good. Naruto ate it all. Sasuke sat across the table from him, staring across the apartment at the balcony window. It felt strange, sitting like this. There was a strange sort of camaraderie about it. They were the survivors. They were the abandoned. A silent understanding flowed between them, briefly, before settling under their skin silently.

"It was good. Thanks." Naruto murmured, pushing the plate away. "I didn't know Uchihas could cook."

"You'd be surprised." Sasuke responded stiffly, getting to his feet. "Good night." Sasuke vanished into the darkness of the apartment, Naruto's adjusted vision able to follow his shadow across the room. It was then, watching Sasuke glide easily through the dark, that Naruto realized something.

His apartment was clean. The dishes were washed, the carpet was vacuumed, the counters were cleared. Given that Sasuke no longer felt the need to sleep in the couch, Naruto suspected the young Uchiha had been cleaning up in the spare room as well.

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Sasuke stared up at the large, grayish windows and deep red brick walls with a dubious, grim expression on his face. He shot Naruto an almost pained look, crossing his arms over his chest. Naruto didn't notice. The blond was too busy looking triumphant, eyeing the school with nostalgic joy.

"I can't believe it! All these years and this school looks exactly the same as it always did!" Naruto commented happily. He didn't seem the slightest bit aware of Sasuke's discomfort. "They even kept the old school banner!" Naruto pointed in the direction of a large blue-and-gold banner hanging above the entrance. The blue had turned slightly navy over the years and the edges looked…burnt? "I'm surprised they kept it after the senior prank me and Gaa….Er, nevermind…We should probably get going huh? We'll be late." Naruto rambled on quickly, shooting Sasuke a nervous smile. If Sasuke hadn't been so busy wishing he could sink into the cheap, chipped, concrete sidewalk he might have wanted to question Naruto on this 'prank'.

"Come on. Baa-chan hates it when I show up late." Naruto grabbed Sasuke's elbow and pulled the boy forward. Sasuke resisted for only a moment, casting the school a last grimace before following the blond jerkily (due to the grip of his arm). Was this really his new school? This heap of old bricks and permanently fogged up glass?

Inside the school wasn't any better. The tile was patches of scuffed and stained white, piss yellow, and a brown that was obviously meant to hide stains but did a poor job of it. The walls were cinderblocks painted white that was chipped in places and near the floors it was clear that whoever painted it had been clumsy or apathetic because there were drips of white paint on the tile. The lockers were blue slices along the wall, dinged and rusty. Sasuke shifted uncomfortably, following closely behind Naruto. It was still twenty minutes before school started, so there were only a few people in the hall. The teachers that Naruto passed cast Naruto a weary but amused glance, all smiling affectionately when Naruto beamed at them. They seemed inclined to stop, until their eyes fell on Sasuke and uncertainty crossed their faces. They passed without saying anything, just a slight, warm smile at Naruto before they carried on with their middle class lives. Sasuke felt something bitter building up inside of him and he knew it was beginning to show on his face.

The few students they passed seemed overjoyed to see Naruto. The male students grinned, shooting Naruto mock salutes or bowing. The female students giggled and whispered among one another, first pointing at Naruto, then pointing at Sasuke. The Uchiha as feeling more and more aware that Naruto wasn't telling him something.

"Alright, here we are." Naruto murmured, stopping when they reached a set of double doors. Sasuke glanced around Naruto's broad back to read the panel beside the door.

**Konoha High Principal's Office**

At least, that's what it would have said if all the vowels hadn't been chipped off.

"Do yourself a favor, Uchiha, and don't give this lady any lip, got it? She's not as forgiving as I am." Naruto muttered, shooting Sasuke a sharp look. Sasuke just glared at him, muttering something that vaguely resembled _whatever_.

When they entered the office everything went quiet. All eyes turned to stare at them. Sasuke couldn't help but stare back- if these were the people who ran this school, Sasuke had a feeling he was going to be insane after first period.

"Ero-senin! Gai-Sensai!" Naruto said joyously. The first freak- a man with the ugliest bowl hair cut and green-and-orange jumpsuit that Sasuke had ever seen, beamed.

"Naruto! As always the light of youth burns within you!" Gai practically yelled, wrapping an arm around Naruto and hugging him to his chest. Naruto squirmed, trying to pull his face away so he wasn't choked by a mouthful of green spandex. Sasuke took an awkward step back, eyes darting from Naruto and his captor to the other two in the waiting room- an old man with shaggy white hair and a rather mousy looking young girl with cropped black hair. The woman was behind a long counter right before the door to the principal's office and whenever she leaned over the counter to get a better look at Naruto and Gai, the older man would glance down at her cleavage hopefully. The girl seemed hip to this, however, because her hand would immediately shoot out and smack him in the face, her facial expression never wavering from a small, calm smile.

Sasuke shuddered and cast Naruto a pleading look. The blond pulled free of Gai's hug, giving him a smile that seemed a bit strained in Sasuke's opinion.

"It's always good to see you, Gai-sensai." Naruto wheezed out, trying to straighten out his shirt. "Is Baa-chan here?"

"Of course! She is currently planning her day as a pillar of inspiration for the youths of today!" Gai informed Naruto cheerfully, clapping the blond on the back hard, causing Naruto to wince. Sasuke felt a roll of annoyance at the tall, oddly dressed man.

"She's been here since six. Dragged me in early and everything. Just between you and me, I think she's been walking on air since you called last night." The creepy white-haired pervert commented softly. Naruto smiled sheepishly.

"I always think about coming to visit…" Naruto started weakly, clearly feeling guilty.

"Don't tell me, tell her. But I'd do it from a distance- you know the temper on that woman…." As if on cue the glass paneled door came swinging open, clattering when it hit the wall and a tall, blond woman stood in the doorway, hand on her hips and looking ferocious.

"You let your tongue overshadow your brain, old man." She growled, coming forward to whack the man sharply on the head with her fist. The man hardly seemed phased, giving himself enough time to simply wince and rub his head before returning to normal.

'Baa-chan!" Naruto cheered, beaming. The woman turned to give Naruto a glare.

"Don't _'Baa-chan' _me brat! You dragged me up here for a chat just to make me wait?" She crossed her arms like a petulant child, which caused her unusually ample breasts to become even more pronounced. Sasuke felt his discomfort grow and suddenly found himself cursing his brother in every language that had been shoved down his throat as a child- even English and German, which were particularly vulgar sounding.

"Make you wait? We're barely five minutes late!" Naruto pouted, holding out his watch. The blond woman rolled her eyes and smacked his hand away, quickly wrapping her arm around the neck and forcing him into a choke hold. The blond squirmed much more ferociously than he had with Gai, a little, rebellious smile on his mouth. Sasuke and Gai had to stumble back quickly to keep from getting hit by Naruto's flailing legs and arms.

"Let go, you old hag, before I break your brittle bones!" Naruto growled. Her response was to bop him on the head.

"Stop squirming, punk! Don't you know it's rude to fight a lady?" The blond woman demanded. Naruto let out a sharp laugh.

"No one would ever accuse you of being a lady!"

"Why you! I'll teach you to respect your elders!" The principal retorted sharply, releasing Naruto's head before grabbing him by the ears and dragging him over to her office. She stopped at her door and cast Sasuke a sharp look over her shoulder.

"Come on then, Uchiha." She commanded sternly, before continuing to drag Naruto after her. Sasuke hesitated for a moment, casting a look around at the other people in the waiting area. They had all carried on with their own thing, not looking the least bit concerned with what had just happened. Letting out a nervous breath, the Uchiha made his way forward.

"Now, Uchiha, it's time to decide if Konoha high is right for you."

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Author's notes!!!

I'm very tired. So very, very tired. It's been a helluva long week/weekend/year. Trust me on this. I'm freaking exhausted.

But that's hardly important. I mean, sleep is for the weak.

I'd like to ask a general question, because I was wondering this earlier. It's really just a little quandary of mine, so no one really has to answer-

How many readers of yaoi are actually guys? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love all my rabid yaoi fangirl readers (here's my shout out to y'all!) But I got a review the other day from a guy and it got me thinking. I guess I never really considered male readers before. I knew they were out there, obviously, I just never really wrote with them in mind. I've always written with the intend to please, well, fellow yaoi obsessed females like myself.

Do male readers like my work? Does it seem realistic?

If the question isn't too pervasive don't worry about responding (and it may be, my etiquette and tact are qualities I could improve upon…you know, after I solve world hunger and develop a new energy source with all the endless free time I have…). But it just got me thinking, that's all….

Okie Dokie. Sleeping now.

The glorious and fabulous, AthenaAlpha


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

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The woman stared at Sasuke hard, a suspicious glint in her eyes. She bunched up her mouth thoughtfully, leaned forward until her nose was only and inch from his, leaned back and tapped her fingers together thoughtfully…and repeated each action several times until she seemed sure that he understood that he was being studied like an animal at the zoo.

"So this is what an Uchiha looks like." She commented. "I expected something more impressive." Sasuke couldn't help but be a bit offended.

"Baa-chan! He's not a science experiment." Naruto lectured voice oddly serious.

"Yeah, but still. The Uchihas owned half of Tokyo or something didn't they? I just thought he'd look a little more…intimidating." She continued, voice casual. It occurred to Sasuke that she may not know he was actually there. She was talking about him like he was a photo or a statue or something.

"What did you expect? A dark cape and a cipher?" Even Naruto was talking around him. How irritating.

"Well…no. I guess not." She added thoughtfully. "It's just a little disappointing, that's all."

"Gee, sorry to burst your bubble." Sasuke grumbled, glaring icily at the older woman. She seemed less than intimidated. She did, however, look amused. Sasuke felt a sour expression settle onto his face.

"He's fun to mess with at least." She told Naruto matter-of-factly. "Maybe even more than you were, gaki."

"If you say so." Naruto grumbled. "My experience has been less than thrilling." Sasuke shot him a sharp look as if to remind him he _was _still in the room. Naruto smiled and shrugged innocently.

"So what's a kid like him gonna do in a school like this, anyway?" Tsunade asked, leaning back in her chair.

"Same thing as everyone else, I suppose. Learn." Naruto offered. Sasuke let out a derisive snort which caused Naruto to glare at him.

"Mmm. Something we can agree on." Tsunade mumbled, giving Sasuke a doubtful look. "I'm sure the Uchiha has had more than an average education."

"So put him in senior classes or something." Naruto responded, clearly more optimistic. "Look, it can't hurt for you to get a taste of how the other half lives. I mean, you _are_ one of us now. No matter how much you may hate it." Sasuke scowled and looked away. Naruto had a point. And Sasuke was growing to hate it whenever the blond was right.

Which was more often than he'd like to admit.

"Hmph." Tsunade grumbled, looking rather childish. "Sure, but why here? What makes it so important that he be _my _problem?"

"He's…kind of got to be low profile right now. I couldn't be sure than anyone else would keep quiet about him." Tsunade gave him a curious look.

"What exactly did you have in mind?" She asked, casting a quick look at Sasuke.

"Well, the teachers will need to keep quiet- treat him like any other student…I guess his age might be a problem, if he's enrolled in senior classes as a Sophomore that might be a bit suspicious…" Naruto muttered thoughtfully.

"I'll be seventeen in a few months." Sasuke grumbled. "I could enroll as a junior."

"Uh…right. Yeah. That could work." Naruto mumbled, studying the side of Sasuke's face awkwardly.

"What about his name?" Tsunade commented. "He can't be running around as Uchiha Sasuke if you want this poorly-constructed plan to work."

"Uh…yeah…I uh, kinda thought that it would be best if…if he…enrolled under my name…" Naruto was staring at his hands. Sasuke's jaw was clenched. For a moment no one said anything. Tsunade glanced between them curiously.

"_Uzumaki _Sasuke? Now that _does _have a nice ring to it." She muttered under her breath. Both boys winced.

"Yeah well…it's not like I have a choice." Sasuke bit out. Naruto had mentioned this plan to him that morning. The fight they had had been particularly vicious, and Sasuke could still hear his outrage ringing through the air between them. "It's not like being an Uchiha is really going to do me any good anyway." Tsunade gave him a pensive, searching gaze.

"Hmm. Perhaps the name Uzumaki has more luck?" She offered dryly.

"I doubt it." Sasuke and Naruto said in unison. Sasuke tone was scathing, while Naruto's held a hint of exasperation. Then they glared at one another. Tsunade let out a huff of amusement/annoyance.

"Alright, boys. That will be quite enough. So Uzumaki Sasuke, the junior. Sounds like a plan. I can see you two brain-surgeons have really hammered this out." Tsunade grumbled. "Now, I have a school to run, and from the sound of it, you've given me quite a bit to do. True to form, as always, gaki." Naruto grinned.

"As for you, _Uzumaki_-kun" Tsunade added as she rose to her feet, her full height casting a shadow over the two seated males. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, first bell."

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Sasuke had always been a light sleeper, which is one of the reasons his room had always been at the back of the house. Sasuke wasn't sure where the cycle began: Had he gotten the out-of-the-way room because he was a private person, or had he become a private person because of his out-of-the-way room?

Sleeping in a room that was only one fake-wood-wall apart from someone else was an adjustment in itself. Sleeping in the room next to Uzumaki Naruto, the loudest man alive, was the equivalent of making Sasuke learn to walk on his hands. He spent half the night tossing, turning, squirming, and staring desperately at the ceiling. Naruto didn't snore exactly- slight grumbling, occasional yelps of words, the sound of his bed clattering around as the blond jerked and twisted in bed. How the blond could even sleep through it was a mystery to Sasuke.

The Uchiha let out a frustrated groan and dragged himself to his feet. If he couldn't sleep, he may as well get something to drink. His mouth felt dry and cottony. He opened the door to what was now his temporary (ugh) bedroom. A snort from the other room made him slam the door a bit. He doubted Naruto would be affected if he ripped the door off the wall and played it like a drum…

Sasuke paused a moment in front of Naruto's door, which was cracked open slightly. His dark eyes took in the shadowy depth of Naruto's room. It was small, possibly even smaller than the one Sasuke was sleeping in, which surprised him. Why would the blond _choose _to sleep in the small bedroom? Also, there was very little furniture. It hadn't really occurred to Sasuke before, but looking into the darkness of Naruto's room which housed only a bed and a nightstand, made him wonder at why the blond's apartment was very sparsely furnished. He had a kitchen table, a coffee table, a couch, and one bookcase. No lounge chairs, hardly any knick-knacks- only blinds on the windows, no curtains.

It was surprising, if only because Naruto was a former lover of Itachi's, who was prone to lavishing his partners with expensive gifts. Actually, considering how devoted Itachi had seemed to Naruto, it should have been a shock to Sasuke that Naruto was living in this little dive to begin with….

A little groan-growl startled Sasuke out of his thoughts and his eyes returned to the sleeping body tangled up in blankets. He was lying on his back, which let the light of the moon that was visible through the one open window land on his face. It looked uncharacteristically worn and Sasuke wasn't sure it was simply the shadows. Especially when the blond let out a whimper and his head jerked sharply left and right as if he was trying to shake himself loose from something.

Sasuke scowled and dragged his fingers roughly through his hair. It had only been a few days and already Sasuke felt sick of this life. This life with this man. For a moment Sasuke paused, wondering if his brother had ever thought of this. Of having this kind of life with Naruto.

Had Itachi ever thought of spending his life with this man?

The thought made Sasuke feel strangely resentful. Had Naruto ever been worth it to Itachi?

Had Itachi ever been worth it to Naruto?

Sasuke felt almost immediately that he had. Sasuke had never liked spending time around Itachi's boyfriends- most of them were cheap, greedy half-prostitutes dying for a piece of Uchiha. Naruto had been different. When they were together, Naruto was always smiling. Beaming, looking at Itachi as if he was the only person in the room.

Sasuke hadn't liked Naruto any better. In fact, he had liked him even less.

Without realizing it, Sasuke had entered Naruto's room. He stood just beyond the doorway, near the foot of the blond's bed. Feeling oddly outside himself, Sasuke crept forward, placing his hands gently on the banister on the foot of Naruto's bed. He ran his fingers along the smooth surface slowly, staring down at the sleeping man absently.

His face was a bit calmer now; he looked less distressed, at least. His forehead was no longer furrowed, causing his face to look amazingly younger. Almost childlike, with his smooth cheeks and parted mouth…

Abruptly Sasuke turned away, staring hard out the window into the darkness outside. His jaw was tight now, twitching slightly as he gritted his teeth. He had to get out of this place. He didn't belong here.

A confused moan made Sasuke turn around. Naruto's eyes were half open, but there was a hazy, distant look to him that made Sasuke suspect that he was not truly awake.

"Hey. Whyhre you up?" Naruto garbled. "Dreams again?" Sasuke stiffened, a dull, heavy pounding slamming in his chest. "Come back to bed…" Naruto's voice trailed off as his eyes fluttered shut again. Sasuke didn't move and for a while, Sasuke didn't breath.

Naruto still dreamed of _him_.

Sasuke wasn't sure how he managed to get back to his room. He didn't remember leaving. He didn't remember climbing back into bed.

One moment he was frozen to the ground, muscles tight and eyes unblinking. The next, he was staring at the ceiling, lungs burning as he panted. Why was he panting? Why did his eyes sting?

Why couldn't he stop clenching his fists?

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The shutter of the camera clinked impatiently, eating up the image of the school across the road. In the dark, the school looked strangely ominous. The banner flapped absently in the light, evening wind.

The car was parked inconspicuously on a side street, where the shadows hid the figure in the driver's seat.

"Konoha high." A soft voice murmured. Several more clicks echoed softly through the car. "Not quite the usual Uchiha quality." The camera vanished, disappearing into the darkness of the car. As if on cue there was a humming noise. A phone on vibrate.

"Yes?"

"Have you finished?"

"The building's security was nearly non-existent."

"Then you had no trouble."

"Of course not." There was a slight silence on the other end, a sign of approval. "Uzumaki is making this interesting." The man murmured softly into the phone.

"That fool."

"A fool, perhaps. But his schedule is erratic and he has a tendency to…wander. Makes him a bit irritating to keep tabs on."

"That can work both ways. It will be difficult for Itachi to contact him."

"Itachi knows him better." _Than we do_ the man added silently.

"Yes. It's good to keep his chances as limited as possible."

"If he contacts either of them, I'll know."

"You had better."

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Author's notes!

Okay, so I slacked on the updating here. In my defense, last weekend was by birthday weekend and it kinda slipped my mind (Sorry, sorry!)

Anyway, I was reading through my first couple of chapters and was in a little bit of pain. I make way more grammar mistakes than I thought…How sad….(I'm pouting, if you can't tell). I always check before I post, but it's hard because I know in my head what I'm trying to say and sometimes I just translate it that way even if that's now how it's written…Especially since I always wait until around, oh I don't know, one or two in the morning to proof read….urgh….

Just wanted you all to know that I am trying! Really!

Hmmm….what else? I know there was something else I was going to say…

Oh yeah. I just wanted to say that if anyone is looking for any good Sirius/Remus slash, I have been favorite-ing some really good ones recently. I was sad when I found out that each author can only have one C2 and I wanted to create a Sirius/Remus group because, somehow, SR stories don't get as much attention as some other slash couples (which is a pity, because I love them). So if anyone is interested, check them out, maybe toss a couple reviews their way.

I highly recommend

_Casting Moonshadows_ By Moonsign

_Did you know?_ By Thai Mal Food Corps

_Don't Look at Me Like That_ By Viar

_Momentum _By Children of the Shadows

_The Right Decision _By Vixenette

_Right Kind of Wrong _By KawaiiTenshi27

Also, I have been looking around for some pretty songs and I found some that I like that I think are worth mentioning:

Garden of Love by Kim Lian

Road to Heaven by Kim Lian

Within Temptation by Angels

Say it's possible by Terra Naomi

Gravity of Love by Enigma

Alright, well, that's all the plugs I have for this chapter….

You'll hear from me soon!  
The-Universally-Loved-And-Hated

AthenaAlpha


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

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The next morning Sasuke did his best to avoid any contact with the blond idiot. It didn't seem to bother the blond, as he didn't seem to be in a particularly talkative mood. _Perhaps_, Sasuke thought petulantly, _his dreams had left him little room for a restful sleep_. So they woke in silence. They prepared for their day in silence. They ate breakfast in silence….or rather, Naruto ate. Sasuke waited. When Naruto had finally finished (which was oddly quickly. The blond didn't even _chew_) they got their things, climbed into Naruto's shit-car, and drove in silence.

It wasn't until they reached the road beside Sasuke's new school (Sasuke suppressed a shudder) that Naruto finally spoke.

"Have a…..good day." He murmured, voice hitching at the word 'good' as if he wasn't sure it was proper to say it. Sasuke agreed- there was some sickening irony about even suggesting it. He returned with only a nod, if the slight incline of his chin could be called a nod, before climbing out of the car and turning away, slamming the door shut behind him.

He thought he felt Naruto's eyes on him as he walked away and for a sickening moment Sasuke imagined it wasn't really _him _Naruto was watching walk away. But when he turned around, Naruto was already turning the corner.

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Naru-kun!" Naruto stiffened; bracing himself against what he _knew _was coming.

A warm body slammed into his, strong arms wrapped around his shoulders and hot breath wafted across his neck and shoulders. Naruto sighed and grabbed his assailant by his upper arms, trying to wrench himself free. The grip tightened stubbornly and lips brushed across the curve of his neck. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Sai, you moron, let go." Naruto growled lazily, voice a mix of exasperation and exhaustion. Sai made a whiny, cat-like noise and slid his arms up around Naruto's neck, leaning so that their chests were pressed together.

"But you haven't said hello, Naru-kun." Sai pointed out, smiling his odd-little distant smile. Naruto sighed.

"Hello, Sai." Naruto supplied obediently. Sai's smile twitched briefly and he launched himself forward kissing Naruto on the mouth. Naruto didn't bother resisting- Sai's kisses were always so androgynous. It was as if Sai didn't understand the concept behind the gentle press of lips, he just mimicked the motion soullessly.

When Sai felt that he had appropriately exhausted this "greeting" he pulled away lazily, resting his head on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto frowned, lightly squeezing the dark haired male's upper arms. Sai was being unusually persistent today and strangely clingy. Naruto was doing his best to keep from losing his temper, but he really wasn't in the mood for this.

"Sai, is Ino here? I came to pick up some touch-ups from her." Naruto asked abruptly, yanking himself loose. Sai's smile didn't falter, but Naruto thought he saw something dark flicker in his eyes.

"Yes." He didn't offer Naruto any more information, turning away and heading back to his workstation where a large, white canvas was stretched out and waiting. Naruto sighed, getting the distinct feeling that he had upset the stoic male. Shaking his head he moved toward the back of the studio where Ino usually worked and was relieved to see her waiting for him, blue eyes appraising.

"Ino. How are you?" Naruto asked as the blonde moved forward, holding out her arms to indicate that he should hug her. It felt odd- Naruto had seen her less than two weeks ago, and yet it felt like years. Because the last time he had seen her, he had been the happy, successful lover of the enigmatic Uchiha Itachi.

And now….

Her arms went around his neck and she went up on her toes so her mouth was near his ear.

"He's been worried about you, you know." Ino's voice was barely a whisper. Naruto stiffened. "He didn't say anything, but I could tell. He's been waiting to see you." Naruto grimaced, closing his eyes tightly and pressing his forehead against the girl's shoulder, feeling both comforted and agonized by the woman's words.

Of course he had. Because his hug had been tighter than usual and his kiss had been more stubborn than usual, as if he had been desperate to get it right. Just this once. As if he had wanted Naruto to understand…

The blond male sighed and met Ino's slightly reproachful gaze with a tired, apologetic cringe. Ever since the day they had met Sai had been….frustrating. Infuriating. Unapproachable.

A jack-ass.

But Naruto was a jack-ass himself and a tenacious one at that, and eventually he found himself on good terms with the odd dark-haired male. Actually, considering how awkward most of Sai's attempts at human interaction went, one could say Naruto was on great terms with him. They had even become friends, which confounded everyone Naruto knew, even Ino who had her own tenuous relationship with Sai.

Sighing a little to himself, Naruto silently excused himself from Ino's company and made his way back over to where Sai had perched himself, staring at a large white canvas expressionlessly.

"Sai?" Naruto finally ventured, wondering what exactly he was going to say. Naruto's voice seemed to shake Sai out of his contemplative state, because he pushed off the stool and stood slowly, turning to face Naruto with those same apathetic eyes.

Naruto wondered vaguely if there was some long lost blood relationship between Sai and the Uchihas….

"Sai?" Naruto repeated, wondering if Sai was really paying attention. The dark haired male inclined his head slightly, his odd smile flickering curiously at the edges. Naruto wondered if maybe he was trying to appear more sincere.

"I'm sorry that you lost an important bond, Naruto." Sai told Naruto matter-of-factly. "But I am not sorry that he no longer has a bond with you." Naruto frowned curiously, trying to understand Sai's strangely prophetic way of speaking.

"Is that so?" Naruto mused. "Isn't that a bit of a double standard?" Sai didn't respond, just stared at him for a long moment.

"I hope your new bonds are stronger." Sai commented, picking up one of his brushes and carefully dipping it in ink.

"New bonds?" Naruto asked, arching one gold eyebrow curiously. Sai didn't look at him again, trailing blackness across the white canvas.

"Bonds." Sai murmured wistfully, and it occurred to Naruto that he had lost him. Sai would be closed off from the outside world until he finished whatever idea had just come to him. Great.

All he had now was the random prophetic mumblings of a perverted painter with no social skills.

Oh well. He'd gone on with less…

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Sasuke stared straight ahead, jaw clenched and eyes locked, unyielding, on a random spot at the front of the classroom. His body was rigid and his back was straight, making him appear uncomfortable. And he was. Uncomfortable.

It had to do, largely, with the awkward sensation of body heat so close to him on either side. The knowledge that if he shifted slightly he would be touching someone. A stranger sitting beside him on the long bench style desks. Sasuke wasn't one for excessive human contact, especially with strangers. Especially with obnoxious, loudmouthed strangers who seemed to not know anything about respecting people's personal space. Strangers who insisted on talking around him like he wasn't there- or like he was some inanimate object blocking their view, as they kept leaning forward over the desk to talk, sometimes leaning diagonally across the table and bumping Sasuke's sides.

"Come on, man, just let me see it for a second! I only need a few of the answers!" The shaggy haired brunet on Sasuke's left hissed.

"No way. Iruka totally caught you last time! I'm not getting blamed for you cheating!"

Grumbled the chubby male pressed against Sasuke's right side. Sasuke's jaw twitched when the chubby male shoved a handful of potato chips into his mouth, sprinkling crumbs along the top of the desk. The male on his left let out a huff of annoyance and smacked the table lightly with his open palm.

"Come on, Chouji! I let you see my biology homework last week!" He growled, making a swipe for the bag of chips only to have the chubby male yank it aside roughly.

"Yeah, and it was all wrong!" Chouji muttered. "Thanks a lot!" He slouched back into his seat and Sasuke let out a quiet breath at his reinstated personal space. His relief was short lived when the male on his left half-climbed onto the table to glare at Chouji, effectively surrounding Sasuke.

"Hey, it's not my fault! Biology is impossible! And it's not like you would have done any better on your own!" He snarled, grabbing Chouji's chip bag and yanking. The chunky male let out a fierce yowl and grabbed the other side.

Sasuke saw it coming. Like he was a fucking psychic.

Chip bag ripped in half. The smell of salt and sour cream filled the air.

Sasuke sat in silence as the crumbs settled into his clothes and hair, dusting him in the stench of junk food. The two males, now on top of the desk on their hands and knees, turned to stare at him as if realizing he was there for the first time. The rest of the class fell silent, turning to stare at the three in shock.

Sasuke thought about it. He decided it couldn't be helped. It just had to be done.

Grabbing the edge of the table, he pulled, sending the table- and subsequently the two males sitting on it- clattering to the ground.

And, of course, that's the exact moment the teacher decided to arrive.

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Naruto drummed his fingers nervously along the steering wheel as he drove, casting thoughtful glances at the sulking boy in the passenger's seat. Sasuke's face was frozen into an expression of feigned disinterest, but his shoulders were unusually tight and his arms were crossed over his chest in a manner that looked vaguely defensive. He had been like this since Naruto had arrived to pick him up.

It had been a little eerie, actually, walking into the office and seeing him sitting there, hands clasped in his lap and eyes trained on some invisible target in the distance. Naruto had spent a lot of time in this office due to various….youthful indiscretions. He remembered how it felt; sitting there, after the glow of mischief making had worn off. Sitting there, waiting….

Waiting and waiting and waiting….

"So up until the part where you knocked two of your classmates unconscious, how was your day?" Naruto asked, keeping his eyes focused on the road ahead.

"Hn."

Naruto frowned, wondering exactly how to respond to that non-answer. Well, at least he _had _answered. He was at least acknowledging him. There was hope in that.

"Tsunade mentioned you had Literature first period. Jiraiya teaches that, doesn't he?" Sasuke shrugged. Naruto chewed the inside of his cheek, trying to ignore the nervousness bubbling up in his stomach. He wasn't accustomed to the role of parent. He wasn't even a decade older…

"He's a great teacher, once you get past the whole him-being-a-pervert thing. He speaks fourteen languages, you know. He used to travel a lot." Naruto carried on, gesturing with one hand as he drove with the other. "He's got some amazing stories. He was telling me about this trip he took to Russia, once, and…" Naruto's voice faltered when he noticed Sasuke giving him an icy look. Not an angry look, exactly, more of a….Why-in-the-hell-are-you-talking-about-this look.

There was really no reasoning behind it, but….

Naruto started to laugh. His laughter was probably mostly based on nervous, but the expression on Sasuke's face was just so very…normal.

Naruto collapsed against the steering wheel laughing (while desperately trying to hold himself together enough to keep from driving off the road). Sasuke stared at him with first shock, then confusion, and then…

A slight twitch of his mouth. The slight softening around the edges of his eyes. A soft release of breath.

A chuckle. Quiet and muted as Sasuke tried to pass it off as a cough, but it was there. Uchiha Sasuke had laughed. Uchiha Sasuke had laughed _at himself_.

Naruto basked in the glow of this shared moment. It felt strange and it felt significant. As if Naruto was discovering something about the younger Uchiha that was important.

Their laughter settled and a different type of silence fell between them. Not comfortable, exactly, just…not quite as strained.

"You weren't working today." Sasuke's voice was soft and stiff. Naruto wasn't sure if it was a question, but he felt compelled to answer.

"No, not really. I stopped off at the studio to pick up some things, but I didn't have any appointments."

"You weren't busy then. When they called." Sasuke continued, dark eyes watching the buildings pass as they drove.

"Uh…no. I was just on my way to get something to eat." Naruto responded again, wondering if he could get away with asking questions in the form of statements. It seemed like something only Uchihas could pull off….

"…Good." Sasuke murmured and Naruto suddenly understood.

"You know, when I was attending Konoha I spent over half of my time in that office." Naruto told him, keeping his voice light. "I was always getting sent there, for one reason or another. It was kind of nostalgic, going back there." Naruto turned, giving Sasuke a warm smile. "Feel free to drag me over there whenever you need me."

Sasuke turned to him, meeting his gaze fully for the first time. His expression was, as always, unreadable.

But his arms rested loosely at his sides, and his shoulders were relaxed against the cushions of the car seat.

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"That bastard." Kakashi murmured as he studied the papers spread out on the table before him.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru agreed, draping his arms over the back of his chair and slouching. Kakashi gripped the edge of the paper tightly, crinkling the edges.

"None of the creditors knew about this?" Kakashi demanded, forcefully uncurling his fingers and smoothing the paper out against the desk.

"I've noticed suspicious share exchanges between a couple of the others, but nothing I can prove. They're very smart, these ones."

"Which ones?" Kakashi demanded.

"Why does it matter? You can't charge them with anything." Shikamaru asked suspiciously, giving Kakashi a warning look.

"I just want to know who I'm dealing with." The silver haired lawyer responded evasively. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed and he studied Kakashi carefully.

"No one you want to mess with, I guarantee it." Shikamaru muttered darkly. "But if you must know…" Shikamaru leaned forward, picking out the names on the sheet. "Here, Sasori and Deidara, from the early December transactions from three years ago. See their names there?" Kakashi nodded, eyes quickly sweeping over the dates.

"What makes you think these two knew about Itachi's…alternate source of cash?"

"They began pulling money out about three months later, when they've been invested in the company for years, even though the company was doing exceptionally well at that time." Shikamaru pointed out another date further down the list. "The stockholders couldn't have known that the company's success was due to inappropriate borrowing- Itachi was brilliant at covering his tracks. Even now I can't figure out exactly where the money was coming from, he was so careful. By the time the company folded they had just enough liability in it to not look suspicious. If it wasn't for the timing, I wouldn't have even noticed them."

"You think there were more who were in on this?"

"Maybe. It's hard to tell. Like I said, Itachi was smart. He bought people out around the middle of last year. They could have known. Maybe buying them out was a pretense, to keep them quiet? Or to get people on his side? Who knows." Shikamaru let out a long sigh. "This whole mess is troublesome. How does an idiot like Naruto get himself caught up in this stuff?" There was obvious tenderness in the younger male's voice and a hint of protectiveness.

"It had nothing to do with Naruto. This is all about Itachi." Kakashi responded coolly.

"You're wrong." Shikamaru's voice was strangely focused, and the look he gave Kakashi was unusually stern. "Naruto has everything to do with this. He and Sasuke both."

After all, it wasn't Itachi's neck in the noose right now.

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Author's notes!!!

I have some shocking and disturbing news.

My backpack is trying to kill me.

I can hear it, plotting. Definitely it's plotting. And scheming. Maybe even a little bit of conniving in there somewhere. I'm rather concerned about the whole matter.

There I was, innocently walking along, when a terrible gust of wind (perhaps the wind is in cahoots with my backpack?) came along and somehow blew my zipper open, spilling very beloved dictionaries-in-various-languages all over the ground.

Zut, I say, and Merde! Nombre de Dios!

So there I was, cold and alone (except for the several other hundred people wandering around the campus) gathering up my lovely edition of _Collins Robert French College Dictionary_ when a lovely young woman in a pink-and-white coat so graciously stepped on my hand.

Oh, it's all right kind gentewoman. I realize it must have been fairly difficult to see me in my green ten-pound winter jacket. Please, don't apologize or offer to help me gather my things. No, really, carry on your merry way. Be sure to give my _Langenscheidt's Universal Dictionary _a good, hard kick on your way!

So, to summarize, my backpack was trying to kill me. You see, it was its hope that the girl's heel would somehow puncture my hand resulting in some sort of infectious disease that would result in my imminent death.

Foiled again, you fiend! Never shall I fall to your evil designs!

Hahahahaha!

Sincerely,

AthenaAlpha


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

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Sasuke tried to ignore how bizarre it felt as he laid down the set of plates and silverware while Naruto finished up the cooking. They were oddly in sync with each other, moving aside wordlessly when the other needed to retrieve something, sliding in and out of the cramped kitchen without colliding, all in a comfortable silence. Sasuke pushed aside the part of him that wanted to question how easy this seemed.

The muted atmosphere was ruined when Naruto's phone rang shrilly, and Sasuke felt the corner of his mouth tug downward. Naruto sighed and wiped his hands on his pants, leaving a slight streak of grease-and-flour dampness down the front of him. He moved out of the kitchen slowly, almost sluggishly, and Sasuke wondered if he was expecting bad news. He hadn't mentioned anything.

But then again, why would he? Sasuke thought, stirring the rice. Sasuke really didn't have any right to pry into Naruto's life. Sasuke wasn't family. Sasuke wasn't even a friend. He was just…

"Hello?" Naruto's voice rang out from the kitchen and Sasuke jerked his head to the side, forcing his thoughts to a halt and moving over to check the fish.

"Sakura? Sakura, what' wrong?" Sasuke frowned, curiosity filling him. Sakura? Did that name sound familiar? He couldn't place it.

"No, no. Hey, calm down, I can't….Sakura, I can't understand you…" Naruto's voice was strained. "What? No, of course I….No, no don't do that…I…I can't…Now? Okay, okay…yeah….no, it's fine just….okay, see you soon." There was a click and the sound of heavy footsteps. Sasuke glanced over his shoulder. Naruto's shoulders had dropped slightly and he was worrying his bottom lip. He stared at the door with a far away expression on his face.

"Well?" Sasuke demanded, turning of the stove.

"Sakura….a friend…is coming over. She sounded upset…" Naruto murmured, burying his hands in his pockets. Naruto's concern flowed from him in waves. Sasuke could see it in the gentle little crinkle between his eyes, the tight line of his mouth, the way his shoulders…

Sasuke scowled, staring down into the cooling pan.

So much for a quiet evening.

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Sakura arrived about twenty minutes later, after Sasuke and Naruto had quickly shoveled down dinner (which Sasuke had somehow managed to burn. He suspected it had happened somewhere between the phone ringing and the smoke alarm going off). Almost the second Naruto pulled the door open Sakura's arms were around his neck and choked sobs echoed through the room. Sasuke shot a dark look over his shoulder as he finished rinsing his dishes. She had…a rather shrill voice. Or perhaps that was just the crying?

Sasuke didn't speak hysterics, so he only caught bits and pieces of the problem.

"Didn't!...Fired…..Stupid!" She sobbed piteously. "Too…Argh!!!...Big! Not…." She clung to Naruto, slender feminine body practically molded to his. Sasuke leaned against the kitchen counter, watching as Naruto's left arm curved around her back and he finger-combed her hair gently. If he was having any trouble understanding her, his face didn't show it. His blue eyes were soft with affection and sympathy and he bit his bottom lip nervously.

"I've got you. It's okay. Forget them, they don't know what they're talking about. You are perfect." The girl just continued to hiccup and choke against his chest, even as Naruto began to rock her gently in his arms.

Sasuke found Naruto's tone fascinating. Soft and smooth, it somehow filled the room. Sasuke stared down into his now cold tea. It had suddenly occurred to him that he was trapped here, behind this counter, intruding on this horribly intimate seeming moment.

Because those bastards were blocking his way back to his room.

Sasuke slowly shifted his weight from one foot to the other and kept his eyes carefully directed away from the emotional display. The soft, slightly husky rustle of Naruto's voice continued to flow through the room. Sasuke scowled, absent mindedly turning his glass in circles and watching the cooling liquid quiver. His family wasn't prone to emotional displays, and as far as his brother had been concerned, they were unacceptable from everyone _outside _of the family. This…comforting _thing _that Naruto was doing was very….soft. His brother would never have…

He would never have….

"Don't cry, Sakura-chan. It's okay, I've got you. I won't let you go." Sasuke felt like his heart was slowing down. His blood pumped loudly in his ears. "I won't leave you. I've got you. Don't worry."

He would never have.

"I'm here for you."

He would never have.

"I won't leave you."

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Sakura was fast asleep, curled up on Naruto's bed like a child. Faint tear marks could still be seen on her cheeks, and her eyes looked a little puffy, but her face was no longer tight with grief and her body was relaxed. Naruto sat on the edge of the bed and let out a sigh, leaning his elbows against his knees and rubbing his face with the heel of his palm.

Modeling wasn't a feeling-friendly occupation. Stronger women than Sakura had been broken down and spat out by the cold criticism and stiff competition. Naruto gently smoothed her hair away from her forehead. He would never be able to understand how someone as beautiful as Sakura could possibly not be hired.

He stood slowly, careful not to wake up the tired young woman. He crept carefully out of the room, cursing a little in his head when he stubbed his toe on a raised floorboard. He stumbled toward the door, slipping out as quickly as possible. Once the door was closed he leaned against it, letting out a long breath. A little of the pressure lifted from his shoulders and he made his was sluggishly toward the living room. A pair of eyes glittered in the half-light emitted from the stove light.

"Sasuke." Naruto murmured, startled to see the younger male still hanging around the living room. He sat on the couch, knees pulled slightly toward his chest and head resting against the back of the couch. Naruto would have thought he was asleep if it wasn't for the dark gaze following him across the room.

"It's quiet." Sasuke drawled. "Finally." Naruto ruffled the messy blond spikes of his hair, moving into the kitchen and pulling out a mug.

"I'm sorry about that." Naruto murmured, filling the mug with cold water.

"I've never heard anyone so loud. It was like a siren." Sasuke's voice was harsh and Naruto felt himself bristle, feeling suddenly defensive.

"She was upset, give her a break." Naruto grumbled.

"Women are too emotional." Naruto jumped, swinging around to find Sasuke standing directly behind him. The dark haired male was leaning against the opposite counter, arms crossed over his chest and face unreadable. "Everything's a tragedy with them."

Naruto shuddered. His voice was so cold, so...

"You sound just like…." The sentence faded into nothingness as Naruto choked on the name. _His _name. Sasuke seemed to freeze, as if every atom in his body was locked in place. He knew. He knew what Naruto was going to say.

He knew who Naruto was going to say.

"Fuck you." Sasuke hissed. "Fuck you." Naruto sat his drink down, slowly lifting his eyes up to meet Sasuke's.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" Naruto let out a startled gasp as Sasuke lurched forward, yanking Naruto's shirt forward before slamming his back against the counter. Naruto winced when his side slammed against the handle of the stove.

"Shut up." There was a slight waver in Sasuke's icy voice and Naruto wondered if it was hurt or anger. Sasuke's hands were still clutching the front of Naruto's shirt and the tips of their feet were almost touching. In the back of his mind Naruto noted that Sasuke was several inches shorter than he was.

"I wasn't trying to offend you." Naruto whispered, leaning his head back slightly. There was something strange about his face being so close to Sasuke's. It felt…unnatural.

"Oh?" there was a hint of dark laughter in Sasuke's voice. "And what exactly were you _trying _to do, then? What else could comparing me to….._that man_ do?" Naruto closed his eyes, a strange feeling of anguish flowing through him. Yes, what had he been trying to do?

Why on earth would he have even thought of saying that?

"I'm sorry." Naruto's voice was a raspy whisper. With his eyes closed, it seemed as if every noise was louder, clearer. Sasuke's breath was vicious, the sink was dripping, and damn it, that dog down the hall was barking again.

"You're the one who dated the bastard." Sasuke snarled. "You were screwing him. You _chose _him. I got stuck with the asshole. You could have been with anybody." Naruto's eyes snapped open and he stared into Sasuke's face. The cool, pale planes of his face, and elegant figure were so similar to…

But those eyes. Those dark, beautiful eyes were all wrong. They were burning, frustrated...emotional. Sasuke couldn't be cold the way _he _could. It wasn't his nature, it wasn't him, no matter how hard he tried or how much of an ass he was being. Sasuke was….

Different.

"I thought….I thought he was worth it." Naruto's voice was soft and shaky, barely louder than a breath. His body went limp against Sasuke's grip and his head fell forward. Sasuke stiffened when their foreheads met. Dark eyes widened as he watched Naruto's face fall, a heartbreaking expression altering his features.

"W-what…what are you…" Sasuke stammered, feeling an unusual heat to flood his cheeks.

"I thought he was different, inside. I saw it in him, sometimes..." Sasuke's hands hovered helplessly in the air on either side of Naruto's waist, as he scrambled for an appropriate response. His anger had evaporated in an instant, replaced with confusion and a little bit of panic. He hadn't been expecting this. Was everyone a basket case today?

"He would look at me, and there would be so much…passion in his face. I thought that meant…I thought that meant we were…" Naruto bit his lip and Sasuke could feel the cool, clammy texture of Naruto's skin against his forehead. Sasuke's hands slowly drew up and he pressed them against Naruto's chest with the intent to push the blond away, but his arms seemed to lose strength as Naruto spoke.

"I thought he loved me."

And Sasuke suddenly couldn't take it any more. He pulled Naruto close to him, wrapping his arms around the older man's waist, and buried his face into his shoulder. Naruto clung to him, large but gentle hands burying themselves in dark hair. Their chests pressed together, hearts pounding, as they stood entwined in each others pain, fear, and confusion.

Sasuke couldn't remember ever being held before. He wondered if it was always like this, so…warm, with the unnaturally comfortable feeling of having your personal space so invaded. Naruto's shirt smelled slightly musky with a hint of a flowery scent that must have been fabric softener and his body was unyielding against Sasuke's, supportive and firm.

When Naruto finally pulled away Sasuke felt immensely cold. His arms hung in the air for a second, as if confused at the sudden emptiness, before they fell limply to his sides. Naruto slid away, walking quickly to the other end of the kitchen and placing his hand against the fridge to brace himself. Sasuke watched his back jerk with each deep, heavy breath.

The urge to reach out and place his hand against the twitching muscles along his spine….

Sasuke's jaw tightened and he crossed his arms across his chest, quickly averting his eyes. This whole night was insanity. What in the hell was this place doing to him? It was like he was suffocating, being absorbed by someone else entirely. This was wrong, this was all wrong.

"If you actually thought an Uchiha could ever love someone like you, you are a fool." Naruto closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the cool surface of his freezer, trying to push away the hateful tone of Sasuke's voice. It was the voice of a scared and angry child.

"Good night, Sasuke."

A ringing in his ears took over and Naruto stumbled, like a drunk, into his room. Slowly, carefully, agonizingly he climbed into his bed beside Sakura, wrapping his trembling arms around her waist. Green, slightly puffy, eyes fluttered open and a sleepy voice murmured. "Naruto? You okay?"

"Fine, Sakura. Go to sleep. Everything will be fine in the morning." She gave him a weak smile and huddled closer to Naruto's warmth.

Sasuke laid alone in the dark, staring at the ceiling.

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Author's Notes

I'm not particularly pleased with this chapter, but I've had very little resources as of late. For one thing, due to Christmas break I was without the internet because my parents can't afford it, then I had to move, which is really hard when you only have one suitcase and two carry on bags to move several states away…

(I got an out-of-state internship. Plane rides are hectic and I couldn't take much in the way of luggage…I'll miss you knick-knacks…) 

And, of course, my muse has temporarily abandoned me. I suspect that she ran off with some punk-rocker wannabe for some wild nights. She'll be back. She always comes back. Plus she left her pager here.

So, forgive me for the many sins I have committed against you all, and I hope everyone had an excellent holiday filled with much less stress than mine.

Thank you for waiting ever so patiently.

Sincerely,

WANTED! One muse. Qualifications: Loyalty, friendliness, an ability to inspire gay smut, and a tolerance for angry rants.

Preferred non-smoker, because it is a fire hazard and I'm clumsy.

Please look in your local newspaper for listings. Auditions begin next Monday.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8

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Day two of Sasuke's five day suspension. Not that he was counting.

But perhaps if he had remembered how boring it was being left alone in Naruto's apartment all day, he would have been less inclined to attack his fellow students.

It didn't help his disposition any that he had slept horribly. Most of the night he did nothing but toss and turn in frustration and the sleep he did get was plagued with dreams that he couldn't quite remember but that left him feeling cold. Naruto had left early in the morning with Sakura after about an hour of soft whispering and the sound of the coffee maker. Sasuke had very purposely remained in bed until the two had left with the hopes of avoiding any interaction at all with the pink haired model and as little as possible with the illogically frustrating blond photographer. Once they were safely gone Sasuke had come out of hiding (not that he would acknowledge it as hiding. More like, evasive maneuvering).

Naruto had, infuriatingly enough, left him some breakfast on the stove- the thoughtful bastard- and a note commenting on the lack of food in the apartment and how Sasuke might think of going shopping if he didn't have plans (there was something sarcastic about that sentence, even on paper, that Sasuke didn't like). From what Sasuke gathered from Naruto's sloppy handwriting the market the blond usually shopped at was within walking distance and had a tab open for him that Sasuke was permitted to use.

For the first couple of hours Sasuke pointedly ignored this suggestion as well as the cooling potato slices and irregularly shaped pancakes Naruto has left on the counter. His little rebellion was going pretty well until around noon when his stomach began to tighten angrily and his head began to swim. Teenage pride being weakened by its lack of an audience, Sasuke ate the pancakes cold, without syrup, and tossed the potatoes in the trash.

It took him another three hours before he finally gave in to doing Naruto's grocery shopping. He managed to find the market with only a little trouble (Naruto's directions were poorly written, but the doorman of his apartment building was nice enough and pointed Sasuke in the right direction). It was a cute, outdoor-style market that was unusual but charming in a rustic, laid back kind of way. Sasuke decided he preferred cold and corporate, because the people running the stands had a tendency to bellow out prices at the top of their lungs and every once and a while Sasuke would get caught in the midst of children playing run-and-catch between their parents carts.

"Rice? We sell by bags. How much did you want, kid?" A rather thin looking man demanded, already shoveling the white grains into a bag before Sasuke even answered.

"Two and with some leeks. Uzumaki's tab." Sasuke rattled off, having gotten used to using Naruto's name by the fifth stand. People had mixed reactions to it- the younger women at the fruit stands had smiled and murmured to each other, giggling to themselves in a highly feminine way. The large man at the fish stand had snorted and rolled his eyes and the older woman selling poultry and beef had glared at him and chopped the meat up in a rather violent way.

"Uzumaki, eh? What trouble's he in this time?" The man demanded, yet his face and tone remained good natured.

"Not my problem." Sasuke grumbled, quickly loading the bags into the large basket that was getting heavier and that he would have to drag home on his own later. His shoulder disliked the idea greatly. "Where do I go to get dairy?" Sasuke asked quickly, hoping to give off a sense of urgency that would dissuade small talk.

"No dairy here. You'll have to go up the street and down a block to the grocer there. Uzumaki usually only buys his produce here." Sasuke decided groaning would be very childish and simply scowled.

"If you want I can have my boys deliver those bags to Uzumaki's place for you. The doorman knows 'em and will let 'em by." Sasuke felt the handle of the basket slip slightly from his grip and suppressed a wince when he adjusted it carefully in his hands.

"Fine." Sasuke grumbled, mostly to himself. "How long will it take me to get to the grocer?"

"Fifteen, twenty minutes. Why, you have somewhere important to be?" Sasuke glared; annoyed that everyone seemed to think he had nothing better to do with his life than run errands for stupid dobes.

"Have them bring this stuff by in an hour." Sasuke snapped. "And I know what I bought. Don't try to pull anything." The man snickered and gave Sasuke a very unimpressed glance.

"Don't worry, kid, I'm not gonna steal your candy." He retorted and Sasuke felt his cheeks heat but managed to keep his face calm and clear.

"Which way?" He ground out, jaw clenched. The man smirked. Sasuke hoped he chopped one of his fingers off one day.

"Straight onto fifth, turn right. Easy enough. Want me to send you a chaperone?" The man was laughing now, under his breath.

"I'll be fine. Thanks." Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he'd gritted his teeth so hard and it was beginning to make his head throb.

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When Sasuke arrived at the grocer he was immediately annoyed because it was exactly the type of place he would have shopped to begin with, had he known about it. The aisles were neat, clean, and bathed in a florescent, electric glow that was much less invasive than natural light. The diary was kept in large fridges next to fancy cream cheeses and individually packaged yogurt.

So, needless to say, Sasuke wasn't in a particularly good mood when he left, two plastic bags dangling off of his wrists. The contents shifted as he walked and Sasuke's eyes roamed around, taking in the atmosphere. The buildings were older, just like Naruto's apartment building, and the shops were all small, quaint, family-owned deals. A few people stood outsider, smoking or talking in small groups. Sasuke shifted the bags in his hands when he accidentally met the gaze of a smoker outside a dingy looking fix-it shop. Sasuke looked away quickly, turning the corner that led to the outdoor market.

Footsteps.

Sasuke's jaw clenched and he quickened his pace slightly, twisting the straps of the grocery bags in tight fists.

Scraping of several pairs of feet on the ground. The expanse of street before him seemed oddly empty. The market was further down, still out of sight. Where was everyone?

"Uchiha." Sasuke didn't react. He just kept walking, keeping his gaze straight ahead. "Hey, Uchiha!" A different voice. Two of them. No…three…there had to be more than two…So many footsteps…

A hand grabbed his shoulder and Sasuke was jerked around. The bags fell to the ground as Sasuke jerked himself back, out of their grasp.

Sasuke had been right. There were more than two.

There were six.

Damn. Damn. Damn.

"I knew it." One of the boys hissed, looking furious and triumphant. "You're an _Uchiha_." Two of the other boys came forward, looking Sasuke over dubiously.

"He's an Uchiha? Not very impressive." One of them murmured, sneering. Sasuke's hands clenched into fists.

"No. I recognize him from on TV." A girl, the only girl in the group. She was dressed sloppily and roughly- like a girl trying to be a boy. Her eyes ran up and down his frame with smug appreciation.

"Well it's an honor, _Uchiha._" The first boy sneered out Sasuke's name like a curse. Sasuke's chest was tight and deep, deep down he recognized it for what it was.

Fear.

Panic.

Anger.

"You know, my father used to work for you. He worked in the factory. He was supposed to be set. He had insurance." The boy spat and the hot-cold wetness struck Sasuke's face. It was the most degrading thing he could have done. The filth from his mouth, that dirty liquid, running down his cheeks like tears. Sasuke's stomach tightened with the horrifying realization that he couldn't do _anything_.

Six to one. Chunky sweatshirts- weapons? Friends in the shadows?

His name said like a curse. More spit coating his shirt and smeared along his arms.

"Who's gonna pay our bills now, fucker?" Snickers and swearing. A hand shooting out, gripping his arm. Sasuke raged, slamming his weight into the first attacker while the second gutted him with a rough fist. A sloppy clash of limbs as the climbed on top of him. Fists connected again and again with his sides and, for a brief moment, he was flat on his stomach and a harsh kick was delivered to his back.

There was blinding pain and such a rush of blood to his ears that all he could hear was ringing. Then, someone was screaming. A girl- screaming and screaming. The rough pounding of feet on the ground and the weight on Sasuke's body vanished.

Strong arms grabbed him underneath his arms, causing his sides to scream.

"At least they left that pretty face of yours in tact." A familiar voice drawled out, sounding amused. "I'd hate to see you throw a hissy fit over your hair." Sasuke, through the throbbing haze that was his head, found himself standing, weight pressed against the wall to keep from falling over.

"Not bad man. You're still standing that's impressive." The amusement in his tone made Sasuke grit his teeth. "I mean, I thought you'd be crying like a girl by now."

"F-fuck off…." Sasuke groaned, gripping his side. His eyesight was beginning to clear.

"Hey, we just saved your ass, you son of a…" the insult was cut of abruptly by a soft, commanding voice.

"Kiba, be quiet." Kiba? Sasuke's eyes found the source of the noise and his shaggy haired classmate came into view. He was glaring to his left, out of Sasuke's line of vision. When Sasuke attempted to turn his neck screamed in protest.

"A-are you alright, sir?" A girl's voice, gently and searching. Had she been the one who had screamed earlier? Her voice sounded too weak for screaming….But so familiar….

Finally able to move a bit, Sasuke found himself face to face with two complete strangers. The first was a male, though there was something distinctly feminine about the way he looked, with his long dark hair and elegantly arched eyebrows that curved over impossibly cold and pale eyes. The female beside him was obviously a relative, for her features were nearly identical except for the obvious gentleness of her expression.

"Don't worry about him, Hinata-chan. He's a bastard." Kiba grumbled, looking rather petulant after his scolding.

"You know him?" The long haired male asked voice neutral. Sasuke noted rather dryly to himself that none of them seemed too concerned with helping him, considering he was half bent over in pain and no one seemed particularly inclined to help him. Even the young female- Hinata, was it? - had gotten distracted by the dialogue of the two males and was standing attentively by her male relative's side.

"He's the jerk who attacked me at school." Kiba grumbled, shooting Sasuke a snarl as the Uchiha began to mentally catalogue his injuries.

_A sprained wrist? No, just sore. _

"It seems that he attracts enemies." The long haired male commented, shooting Sasuke a searching look._ Did those bruises go to the bone?_ Sasuke did his best to look nonchalant, even as he was carefully balancing on his left leg to avoid putting too much weight on a rather painful right ankle. "What did you say his name was?" The pale eyed male continued and the way he was looking Sasuke over reminded his distinctly of the lobsters in nice restaurants that crawl around in their own filth until someone chooses them for execution.

"_His _name is Sasuke." The dark haired Uchiha snapped.

"Sasuke." The pale eyed male repeated slowly. "Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke's throat tightened and he didn't respond, staring directly into those pale eyes. His expression was unreadable and Sasuke felt himself tense as if awaiting a strike.

"Uchiha? I thought his name was Uzumaki." Kiba frowned, shoving his hands into deep pockets.

"Uzumaki?" The male whispered, as if to himself. "as in, Uzumaki _Naruto_?" Sasuke stiffened and felt his eyes narrow. He was really in no condition to fight right now.

"Naruto-kun?" The small female repeated, smiling warmly and turning to stare curiously at Sasuke. "You know Naruto-kun?" Her tone was encouraging and Sasuke was tempted to relax.

"An Uchiha posing as an Uzumaki?" Those pale eyes were still locked on Sasuke's and were looking slightly suspicious. "This is a strange twist of fate." There was something cruel in his soft, even voice.

"Neji-kun." Hinata reproached softly, touching his arm. Neji's shoulders stiffened and his lips pursed. He bowed his head slight to her before turning sharply on his heel.

"Come, Hinata-hime. Your father is waiting." The dark haired girl paused, casting Sasuke a hesitant look over her shoulder before she rushed to catch up with the already departing Neji.

"Hey, wait! You can't just leave me with this prick! HEY! You guys! Oh, for the love of…" Kiba growled, shooting Sasuke a dark glare. "Why in the hell did you have to go and get jumped, anyway?"

Sasuke felt himself sigh, breath full of exasperation.

Yes, why?

Whywhywhy?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXAuthor's notes

I tried something a little different with this chapter and I'm not sure how I like it….It was a test in writing styles…It made it difficult to transition though…Writing is all about experimenting, I suppose. Kinks must be worked out…

My dad spit on me once. He was crazy drunk and probably doesn't even remember it, which is rather frustrating. You can't ever really forgive someone for something they don't remember because you know that they can't regret it or learn from it or feel guilty about it because it doesn't even exist to them. It pretty much eliminates any chance for closure. Not to mention the fact that everybody else pretends it didn't happen, which ends up making you feel like a liar because you're trying to find some kind of validation for something everyone is denying ever happened.

You know, I really dislike those lobster tanks they have in restaurants. They seem rather cruel to me- they aren't decorated, like fish bowls. They're just water and glass. So what if they're lobsters, they are still living creatures and if they're going to spend their lives in a glass tank waiting to be eaten can't they at least get room? I mean, they are practically stacked on top of each other. It makes me sad…

These author's notes are incredibly random! I can't believe how weird I feel today. Totally anti-me. Not bad, exactly, I just feel strangely unattached…It's disturbing but not unpleasant. Let's see where this strange new attitude takes me and how long it will last…

Sincerely,

A strange new girl trapped in the same old body…


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 9

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Naruto tapped the coffee stirrer he was holding idly against the table. His chin was rested in his palm and his blue eyes were staring off into space. Sakura watched him, vaguely amused at his metal absence. He had been like this all morning and it was one long, drawn out sigh away from being pathetic. Feeling a little ignored the pink haired woman raised her hand about an inch from the side of Naruto's face and snapped her fingers sharply. Naruto blinked and sat up straighter, pouting a little in response.

"What?" His voice was gravely and made Sakura feel strangely anxious.

"You know _I'm _the one who lost my job remember? It's my job to be all pouty and dazed." She reminded him, shaking her ice tea glass lightly so that the ice clanked against the sides. Naruto's eyes immediately softened and he leaned forward so that their gazes were locked.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan." He told her earnestly. She smiled a little at the 'chan'. It reminded her of their childhood together, when Naruto had insisted on being in love with her and she had insisted on hating it.

She had been such a foolish, idiotic girl. What she wouldn't give for a guy like Naruto now... but his being gay presented a bit of a problem.

"Pssh. Don't be silly. I'm totally over it." She assured him, waving her hand as if brushing the thought away. "I've got bigger and better things to do. One job isn't the end of the world."

"That wasn't what you were saying last night…." Naruto muttered under his breath. Sakura gave him a dark, ominous look.

"What was that?" She growled, arching a carefully shaped eyebrow and staring him down intently. Naruto gave a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Nothing, Sakura-chan, nothing!" The pink haired girl still looked suspicious, raising her tea glass and sipping slowly while watching Naruto over the brim.

"Mmmhmm." She hummed out doubtfully and Naruto mustered up the most innocent grin he had. "So why are you so down today?"

"I'm not down." Naruto responded quickly- too quickly. Damn, Sakura's eyes narrowed and her lips thinned.

"I sense a lie. Come on, spill." She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table and laying her palms out flat in the center. Naruto sighed and did the same so that their fingertips touched in the middle of the table.

"I feel like I'm inches away from tumbling off the edge of a cliff." Naruto crumbled, biting the inside of his cheek and staring down at Sakura's French manicure thoughtfully. "I don't know where I stand with anything- or anyone- anymore." He took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts so as not to completely confuse the young woman in front of him.

"I'm worried about work. I know you think my recent success had nothing to do with…my relationship…but I'm not so sure. Plus, this whole mess with Kakashi and Shikamaru- who I'm still upset with, thanks for asking- is making me edgy. I don't like people hiding things from me."

"But there's more to it than that." Sakura continued for him, her voice knowing. "What's _really _on your mind?" Naruto scowled a little to himself, wondering why he had to have a friend who knew him so damn well. It was irritating.

"Sasuke."

"Ahh." Her voice was infuriatingly understanding. "I see. So things aren't going well?"

"No. Maybe. Kind of. I don't know." Naruto grumbled, lifting one hand to push his spiky hair back. "I don't understand him at all. One minute he's all…Uchiha. The next he's a normal, frustrated teenage boy whose life just got ripped to hell. It's…confusing. I don't want to do the wrong thing and fuck him up any worse than he already is."

"You're not his father, Naruto." Sakura reminded him, green eyes trying to catch his. Naruto was evading her well.

"I know that. I do. It's not even about that…not really. It's not that I want to…you know, raise him or anything. But…" Naruto hesitated, pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes as he tried to figure out what he was trying to say. "I _do _want to take care of him." Sakura leaned back in her chair and watched Naruto carefully.

"Take care of him?" She repeated. "Naruto, what exactly is Sasuke to you?"

"What?" The question startled Naruto enough that he looked up and met her eyes dead on.

"Kakashi asked you to look after him. Why you? You're his brother's ex-boyfriend. Why did Kakashi choose you, of all people? What is Sasuke to you?"

"Since Kakashi seemed to think I was a suitable guardian, maybe you should be asking what I am to Sasuke" Naruto muttered.

"Maybe you should be asking that." Sakura responded, wearing an all-knowing expression that she got whenever she thought she had figured something important out. Naruto frowned, feeling a little petulant at not understanding where this was all going.

"What exactly are you…" Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin when the shrill ring of his cellphone interrupted their conversation, rather efficiently reminding Naruto that there was indeed an outside world. Seeing Sakura nod, Naruto sighed and realized that she had chosen to end their conversation by giving him permission to answer the call. He suspected she only did it to avoid answering the many questions her little interrogation had risen for him.

"Hello?" There was a pause on the other end of the line before a young, rather clinical sounding woman began to speak.

"Is this the phone of Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Uh…yes."

"Uzumaki-san, this is Azuma Hinamika with the Sabushi conservation office. We spoke earlier this week?"

"Oh yeah. About the nature piece, right?" Naruto asked, carefully trying to bring back the details of the phone call to mind. "Isn't that later next fall?"

"Yes sir, but there's been an unexpected opportunity to shoot an endangered breed of fox this weekend at the Hokutaka park and we need someone to come up for a two-day shoot."

"For this weekend? Isn't that a little short notice?" Naruto asked with a frown. Across the table Sakura was making questioning gestures that Naruto was ignoring.

"It was short notice for everyone, we weren't aware it would be possible so soon. We contacted a few companies but they were unavailable at such short notice. One of our benefactors recommended you. She said you had worked with her family a few years ago and we recognized your name from the applicants for the fall program.We realize that at this short notice travel would be difficult and should you accept the job we would gladly make arrangements for you to stay at the nearest resort and pay for any travel expenses." Naruto's eyebrows lifted. They _must _be desperate. Sabushi was a nonprofit- they _never _offered to pay expenses unless it was really, _really _important.

"This weekend." Naruto repeated slowly.

"We would greatly appreciate this favor to us, Uzumaki-san." The tone in the woman's voice told Naruto that whatever gratitude they had would definitely be beneficial to him later. Naruto wasn't a greedy person but as a professional he desperately wanted to succeed- to prove something to himself.

And, of course, to prove something to other people…

"Yeah, no problem. Just contact me tomorrow with the itinerary."

"Splendid!" The woman's voice reverted back to clinically chipper and Naruto gave Sakura a grimace-smile. "I'll send you the information on your lodging tomorrow morning. Hyuuga-san will be so pleased. She gave you such wonderful praise when she recommended you." Naruto nearly dropped the phone.

"Hyuuga-san? Wait, what does…" Naruto's voice was a weak crack as his mind scrambled to understand what had just happened.

"It was a pleasure talking to you, Uzumaki-san. Sabushi looks forward to working with you!" Naruto tried to protest but all that came out was a startled yip that the receptionist didn't seem to hear because the next thing Naruto heard was the clink of the phone being hung up.

"Did you say Hyuuga?" Sakura demanded immediately, having suppressed her desperate urge to interrogate Naruto long enough for him to get off of the phone.

"I think so." Naruto murmured, staring at the phone. "What the hell just happened?"

"I don't know! I could only hear one side of the conversation!" Sakura huffed out, crossing her arms across her chest and huffing with irritation. "I was depending on you to fill me in." Naruto winced.

"I think I was just tricked into something that's going to take up my whole weekend and that involves the Hyuugas."

"And how does that happen, exactly?" Sakura demanded as she shot dirty looks at Naruto's cell phone. Naruto smiled weakly.

"Hi, maybe we haven't met. I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I was cursed as a child."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXThe milk had broken when Sasuke had dropped it and the butter was a lost cause. Not that Sasuke particularly cared at this point. All he cared about was the fact that walking was painful and Kiba was loud. Not Naruto loud, perhaps, but for some reason Sasuke was less inclined to tolerate Kiba loud than he was Naruto loud. He decided not to think too hard about that one.

So here he was, carefully supporting part of his weight on the brick building next to him as he slowly made his way back to Naruto's apartment.

And he was being followed.

"You know, everywhere you go you seem to piss people off." Kiba pointed out, trailing behind Sasuke with his hands shoved in his pants' pockets. "I'd work on that if I were you." Sasuke's eyes narrowed but he refused to look anywhere but straight ahead.

"I'm not always gonna be around to save your ass." The brunet added as he eyed a young girl that was passing them wolfishly. She gave Kiba an offended glare and quickened her pace. Sasuke straightened a bit and experimented with more weight on his ankle.

"Hmph. I should leave you here now. Let those jerks come back and finish you off." Kiba added thoughtfully, giving Sasuke a surveying glance. "You deserve it."

"Hn." Sasuke retorted cleverly, less than interested in making conversation with someone who seemed to think constantly ignoring everything he said was a plea for attention.

"So what's with the last name thing? Neji said you were an 'Uchiha in Uzumaki clothing' or some shit." Kiba slowed down a bit to stay even with Sasuke's still uneven pace. He kept shooting Sasuke curious glances as if there was some hidden sign he was missing written across Sasuke's face.

"None of your business." Sasuke snapped, feeling suddenly defensive when Kiba moved in closer and Sasuke found himself trapped between the wall and the strange shaggy haired male.

"Hmph. Well, I'll just ask Neji then." Kiba growled. "Since you're going to be a prick about it." Sasuke's jaw clenched and unclenched.

"Neji, huh? Who the hell is Neji?" Sasuke grumbled. Kiba snorted.

"Who the hell are you?" He snapped back. Sasuke spared Kiba one sharp, cold glare and an added scowl. They turned the corner nearing Naruto's apartment and was relieved to find that the pressure in his ankle was easing back a bit- that meant it wasn't sprained or anything more serious. One less thing that Sasuke had to worry about…

"Hyuuga." Kiba stated coolly. Sasuke let out an annoyed huff of breath and shot him a cold look. "Hyuuga Neji." He clarified darkly. "You wanted to know who he was. Now you do…if a name makes a man, anyway." Sasuke found that obnoxiously deep sounding for someone so dense looking.

"So….Uchiha Sasuke?" Kiba drawled, eyes scanning the skyline absently.

"Hn." Sasuke agreed, feeling tired. Naruto's apartment wasn't much further and all he really wanted right now was to lie down.

"You live around here, or are we just going to keep walking until you find someone else to fight?" Sasuke shot him a warning glare.

What was that line about bringing stray dogs home and never getting rid of them?

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Naruto called Sai right away to inform him that he would be using the studio that weekend and to make sure that Ino knew to lock up on Friday if she wasn't going to be in on Saturday. Sai responded by very pleasantly by asking Naruto if he would be getting any and if he was going to be the woman.

Naruto was never entirely sure if he hated Sai or loved him.

Love might be too strong a word…

He had then taken Sakura back to her apartment where she had insisted on dragging him in to see her new carpeting.

Naruto should have known it was a trap. Sakura had hardwood floors.

Two hours later he'd stumbled out of her apartment with his hair gelled, his eyes lined with a thin line of black, and his nails painted black. She had rather gleefully commented on how he finally looked like the man-lover he was. Naruto made a rather grumpy comment about promoting stereotypes and what kind of friend was she and how the hell was he supposed to scrape off polish before he got home when he was also trying to drive?

It turned out to be just as hard as he thought it would be.

"Fuck!" He jerked the steering wheel as with one hand while using his thumbnail to scrape off black chips from his middle nail. A car beeped noisily at him and the blond shot the driver an apologetic smile that he would never see because was already passed- but it made Naruto feel a little better about almost killing someone.

Naruto would never understand why women were fascinated with dressing up gay men…and dancing with them.

Actually, the dancing made sense. Straight men were all…gropey. Being friends with Sakura for this long had taught him that much. But still, what was with the dressing up? And the hair doing? And the nails- especially the nails. He was gay, not a woman…

Naruto's mental pouting was cut off when he almost ran a light and had to slam on the breaks. A few moments of startled panting and shuddering (sadly, the closest thing he'd come to sex in…urgh….) and Naruto decided that this whole undoing his makeover would have to wait until he was in the safety of his own apartment.

The next fifteen minutes of driving consisted of Naruto trying to figure out how he was going to explain his punked-out look to Sasuke…if the Uchiha was even still awake. Maybe Naruto would get lucky and he would be asleep….

…at six o'clock at night. Right.

"Why am I even worried? It's not like he's my mother." Naruto grumbled to himself as he parked his car and yanked the keys out of the ignition. "I'm not some kid sneaking home from the prom with lipstick on his collar and condoms in his wallet." Logic wasn't helping, apparently, because Naruto was still scratching uselessly at the nail polish on his pinky finger.

He climbed the stairs to his floor (the elevator was down again. When were they planning on actually fixing that thing? It had been off-and-on broken all month…) and walked silently down the hall to his apartment. He still felt eerily like he was trying to sneak around. Maybe he should…

Wait. Were those voices?

Voices in _his _apartment?

Suddenly feeling incredibly apprehensive, Naruto dug into his pocket for his keys and scrambled to undo the lock. Whose voice was that? What were they doing in his apartment? Was Sasuke in there?

He shoved the door open almost violently and it clattered against the wall. The first thing Naruto saw was Sasuke standing in the living room looking startled, annoyed, and vaguely confused. The second thing he saw was a strange, shaggy haired male sitting on his kitchen counter with a half-empty bottle of Naruto's special-occasion wine in his hand. The stranger was gaping at him, eyes a little dazed, and then snickered.

"Yo, Sasuke, your pimp is here."

It was then that Naruto remembered the eyeliner and hair gel.

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Author's notes!

Okay, so I wish I could say I have a good excuse for why this chapter took so long, but I don't. This chapter was just unusually hard for me to write and I'm really sorry. I hope the wait was worth it and I hope I'm struck with some divine inspiration for the next chapter and can get that to you post haste (yes, I stay post haste. My only problem with post haste is my debate on whether or not it's all one word or two…)

So forgive me, my darlings, for I am an uninspired slacker who will try to improve herself one day at a time.

On another note, I'd like to open myself up for any questions you guys may have. I want to hear what you guys are interested in. I'm open to most personal questions, there are only a few I won't answer due to security reasons, such as

What's your real name?

Where do you live?

What's your Social Security number?

Where would it be easiest to look through your window with binoculars?

You know, the technical stuff. Other than that, I'm game. After all, I write yaoi smut…what is there to hide from you guys? Plus, questions are fun. I'm a geek that way- bring on the trivia!!! HAHAHAHA!!!

So, yeah. Ask and you shall receive…Also, feel free to choose a punishment for my tardy chapter. I'll take all suggestions in for deep consideration.

Thank you for being ever so patient

(and happy WAY BELATED V-day….For those of you who believe in it. For those who don't HAPPY SINGLES AWARENESS DAY!!!)

AthenaAlpha


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 10

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Sasuke let out a frustrated sigh as he carefully pulled his raggedy shirt over his head. His chest was bruised rather badly, the dark purple-yellow-blue blemish traveling up his right side and across his upper chest rather viciously. His shirt was dirty and slightly torn along the sleeve where someone had grabbed at him. His legs weren't much better- he'd been wearing his usual long white shorts, so his knees were rather badly scratched up from falling. He grimaced at bit at how weak he felt, staring at himself in the bathroom mirror as he began to pull on a new shirt.

Was this how the rest of his life was going to be? Him hiding and running and...

There was a loud bang that sounded distinctly like a cabinet being thrown open too quickly and Sasuke scowled, pulling his shirt down quickly over his head.

"Don't touch anything!" Sasuke yelled through the door, a feeling of agitation growing in the pit of his stomach. Somehow (and Sasuke was still trying to figure out the details) Kiba had talked his way into Naruto's apartment. If that wasn't bad enough, Sasuke had been forced to leave the pushy male in the main room unsupervised while he changed clothes so Naruto wouldn't see his injuries.

"I'm not!" A rather unconvincing voice yelled back. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the distinct sound of the fridge being opened. Growling a little to himself he grabbed the antiseptic and began to swab the cuts on his knees quickly so he could start damage control. The noises from the main room continued steadily with the sound of cabinets being opened and closed and the faint sound of things being shoved around.

"Goddamnit" Sasuke hissed under his breath, trying to ignore the slight sting of the medication as he sloppily rubbed it onto his skin.

How much damage could one person cause?

Sasuke flinched at the sound of something shattering and Kiba yelled a slightly muffled 'my bad!'

Sasuke sighed and tugged on his pants, ignoring the rather awkward feeling of jeans on his medicine dampened skin. Once dressed, Sasuke pressed his elbows against the sink and rubbed his hands over his face tiredly. Everything was…

Everything was…

So fucked up.

The sound of an excited whoop made Sasuke jerk upright and his dark eyes narrowed dangerously. He yanked the door open and moved into the living room, spotting Kiba almost immediately.

He was sitting on the counter, head thrown back and a dark green bottle pressed against his lips. Sasuke could see the muscles in his neck moving as he drank. Something like stunned fury flowed through the young Uchiha as he watched the dark shadow of the bottles contents lower and he took in the loud, sloppy sounds of rapid swallowing.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sasuke demanded gritting his teeth is frustration. There was a soft pop as Kiba pulled the bottle from his mouth and dragged a sleeve over his glistening chin.

"This is good stuff. And I'm not even a wine person." Kiba commented, grinning wickedly. "I like my liquor…harder." Sasuke's fingernails were digging half-moons into the heel of his palm as he tried to restrain himself.

"What the _fuck _do you think you're doing?" Sasuke repeated as his dark eyes followed the slightly swaying bottle. "Put that back." Kiba smirked and lifted the bottle up so he could salute sloppily.

"Ay yay cap'n." Kiba retorted with a grin. Sasuke sneered, feeling strangely justified. In the back of his mind he wondered if it was somewhat sick for him to actually feel _good _about people disappointing him.

"You dumbass." Sasuke snarled. "Get the fuck out of my house!"

My house.

Get the _fuck _out of _my _house.

Sasuke had just enough time to acknowledge how very _wrong _that sentence was before the scrambled sound of footsteps was heard and the door was flung open, revealing a breathless, wide-eyed Naruto.

And Sasuke's whole thought processes shut down. Glowing blue eyes appeared from streaks of unnatural black and messy blond spikes arched with unusual precision above his head. His chest was heaving rather awkwardly and he looked almost…

Concerned.

Sasuke felt his mouth fall open a little and he stared dumbly at the older man standing in the doorway. His mind scrambled to catch up with what was going on and Naruto seemed equally stricken as his blue eyes flickered over to Kiba.

"Yo, Sasuke, your pimp is here."

And Sasuke's mind did something he didn't understand. I took in the idea. Naruto, with his completely out-of-the-blue punk rocker get-up (while still wearing a faded orange hoodie and a pair of light blue jeans with sneakers) flashed through Sasuke's brain and all the young Uchiha could feel was a strange rush of heat flowing through him.

Would Naruto's eyeliner run if he got sweaty? Black nails digging into pale skin…

Sasuke's throat went dry and he stared helplessly at Naruto as his teen hormones chose the completely inappropriate time to finally surface. Which was quite stupefying, really, because growing up wanted and privileged had given Sasuke access to plenty of much more fitting occasions to be turned on than standing in the living room of his brother's ex boyfriend while a classmate snickered loudly in the background.

And plenty of more suitable….subjects. And what the fuck did Naruto think he was doing running around like that anyway? He looked the like an ad for Nike club wear.

Just do it.

With someone in the backseat of your hummer.

"Who the fuck are you?" Naruto's voice, slightly shrill and bordering on angry caught Sasuke's attention and his rattled thoughts (had he hit his head during the fight? Maybe he should get that checked…) came to a screeching halt. "What is this, Sasuke?" and just like that, Naruto's eyes were back on Sasuke and for some inexplicable reason the idiot looked…

Hurt.

And just what did he have to look so wounded over? Was he cornered in an alley and wailed? Had he been followed home by an infuriatingly obnoxious classmate who liked to make crude jokes about other people's sex lives? Was he still pissed off about buying milk that he would never get to drink?

"What the hell does it look like?" Sasuke almost winced at the rude, brash quality of Kiba's voice as he spoke. "Uchiha and I are having a drink." Naruto didn't look hurt anymore, oh no. Naruto now looked _livid_.

"Uchiha?" Naruto's voice lowered dangerously. "Where in the _hell _did you get that name from?" Naruto's head swung around and his eyes locked onto Sasuke's. "What did you tell him?" The blond demanded.

"I didn't tell him anything!" Sasuke snapped. Oh, now it was his fault the idiot knew about him. Great. Perfect. Because this day had been going oh so well without Naruto getting pissed at him for something that wasn't even his fault!

"You didn't tell him anything? So what, calling you Uchiha was just a lucky guess?" Naruto snarled. From his perch on the counter Kiba watched the exchange silently, occasionally sipping at the liquor he was still holding.

"You think I _told _him I was an Uchiha?" Sasuke's voice rose a tad and his expression was incredulous.

"Maybe. Who knows. You change your mind every five fucking seconds." Naruto responded angrily. "Like a goddamn _woman_." Something that felt suspiciously like embarrassment squirmed around in Sasuke's chest and he shot Kiba a dark look. Naruto shifted a little, looking awkward and Sasuke suspected that he only just then remembered that the shaggy haired male was still in the room.

"Kiba was just leaving." At this, Kiba looked immensely amused and shot Sasuke a wide grin. He propped back his head and emptied the last of the wine bottle out into his open mouth.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I was." Kiba drawled out, smacking his lips loudly before hopping down off the counter. He made a rather large show of stretching out his arms and back while both Naruto and Sasuke watched, tense with impatience and several other unpleasant emotions. "See ya around Sasuke." Kiba called out cheerily while shooting Sasuke a mock salute and strolling past Naruto, in all his teeth-grinding glory, and opening the door.

Of course, he took the time to shout "See you later, princess." Over his shoulder in Naruto's general direction. Sasuke could practically see the vein in Naruto's temple throb. The door slammed shut, Kiba was gone, and a deafening silence filled the apartment. Naruto's jaw as clenched and he closed his eyes tightly and Sasuke got the feeling that he was trying to calm himself down before speaking.

"Sasuke." Naruto's voice had softened and he was slowly relaxing. His face was still twisted into a pained expression, however, and Sasuke knew better than to think he was going to get off easy. "Are you going to tell me exactly what is going on?" Sasuke's immediate instinct was to tell Naruto it was none of his goddamn business. But something about the exhausted expression on Naruto's face made him falter.

"He's just some kid from school." Sasuke muttered. Naruto moved forward slowly until he was only a few feet away from Sasuke. His face was slightly apprehensive, as if he were approaching a coiled snake.

"And it was therefore okay for you to invite him over for wine?" Naruto asked, an angry tone filtering back into his voice. He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a low sigh. "Look, Sasuke, I know that this….that I…I mean, I know it's none of my business but…" Naruto's voice trailed off awkwardly and he rubbed the back of his neck roughly. "If you want to have guys over…" For a second Sasuke didn't understand what exactly Naruto was talking about, just that his tone was suspicious. When he finally caught on his mouth feel open and his eyes widened a little in shock.

Did he….

Did Naruto think that he had….

With Kiba?

Oh _hell _no.

"I mean, I'm not going to say you _can't, _it's just that..."

The word 'f_uuuu_ck' rang loudly through Sasuke's head as he tried to collect the remnants of his mind.

"I mean, you should…you should let me know…and you shouldn't be drinking because, you know, you're so young…" Since his mouth didn't appear to be working, Sasuke did the only thing he could think of.

He shoved his hand over Naruto's mouth. Sasuke could feel his eye twitch with a mix of horror, embarrassment, and outrage. Naruto's eyes had gone startlingly wide and he stumbled backwards slightly due to Sasuke's impact. The back of his leg hit the arm of the sofa and he leaned back a bit, putting them at the same eye level.

Naruto's eyeliner was smudged slightly under his right eye. That and his skin was impossibly warm. Sasuke was panting a little- he had stopped breathing around the time he realized Naruto thought he was trying to get into Kiba's pants and had just now remembered the importance of oxygen to the brain. Naruto cocked his head slightly to the side, causing his chin and to jerk and his lips brushed Sasuke's palm.

He must be really angry for his heart to be beating this fast.

"I am not fucking Kiba!" Sasuke blurted, his voice slightly strangled. Even as he said the words he could feel the mortification settling in. Naruto's eyes widened even further (which Sasuke hadn't even thought was possible) and for a moment they just stared at each other.

It irritated Sasuke to no end that he couldn't remember if Naruto's eyes had been that blue _before _the eyeliner.

Then the bastard was laughing. His shoulders trembled and Sasuke could feel the awkward rhythm of Naruto's breath against his fingers. His eyes tilted, making the light hit them at an irritating, glittering angle. Sasuke jerked his fingers away and wiped them roughly on his jeans. The sound of Naruto's laughter was warm and slightly out of control. Sasuke took a step back and stared at the blond, still shaking his fingers as if Naruto had burned them. Naruto's whole body shook with laughter and he doubled over slightly, whole body shaking with poorly repressed laughter.

Of course, balancing precariously on a sofa arm and laughing until you cry don't exactly mix well and Sasuke watched in stunned silence as Naruto slid from the couch and it the ground.

Hard.

Naruto's laughter died and he sat there for a second, looking confused. For a moment they just stared at each other, Naruto laying on the floor and Sasuke standing next to the couch, hands stiffly pressed to his side. Naruto smiled- a crooked, awkward smile. Sasuke fought a blush and stared at his hands.

"Okay." Naruto drawled out slowly, climbing to his feet. "Okay. So…You and that guy aren't…"

"No." Sasuke snapped, staring at the ground.

"Ah. So this conversation…." Naruto wisely skipped over the arm of the couch and just plopped himself down onto the cushions.

"Was completely pointless." Sasuke grumbled.

"Ah." A long silence followed and Sasuke slowly raised his eyes. Naruto was staring off in the distance, a thoughtful expression on his face. Sasuke noticed rather petulantly that despite his fall, Naruto's hair was still in perfectly styled spikes.

"I'm sorry." Sasuke stiffened at the soft, regretful tone of Naruto's voice. "I didn't mean to argue with you in front of your friend"-Sasuke decided now would be a bad time to argue that Kiba wasn't his friend either- "But you need to tell me when you're going to have people over. There are still people who would hurt you because…" Naruto's voice faltered.

"Because I'm an Uchiha." Sasuke offered softly. Naruto's blue eyes looked incredibly sad right now and he looked away, towards the balcony.

"When I heard voices I thought maybe you were in trouble." Naruto murmured. "It scared me." Sasuke didn't know if Naruto had meant to say that out loud, what with the dreamy, distant look on the blond's face. But something in that statement sent waves of shock- tingling and hot- through Sasuke's body and he clenched and unclenched his fingers in indecision.

Naruto was so goddamn perfect. No one was that perfect.

Sasuke really just wanted to mess up his hair right now. Just dig his fingers into and…

"So, did you go grocery shopping today?" Sasuke's thoughts screeched to a halt and he winced at the memory.

"Yes, but don't expect to eat cereal any time soon."

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Author's notes

Hello, my darlings. I hope you have all enjoyed this lovely beginning-of-march/end-of-February.

Anywho, I worked to get this post out faster than my last, but it still wasn't done quite as soon as I would have liked. I got stalled at how to get Kiba to leave. He's very stubborn, you know- he kept trying to stick around for dinner and I was like 'no, go screw Shino or something'. That actually worked rather well…

You know what I've discovered? Exercise is my mortal enemy. I did this ab-workout thingie the other day and now everything hurts. Not even just my abs! In fact, my stupid abs don't hurt at all! Just my arms, legs, neck, and muscles I didn't know existed. So I am protesting all forms of exercise. I AM DECLARING WAR!

Stupid muscles…

Even my fingers kind of hurt….But that could be from something else entirely…

Sincerely,

AthenaAlpha


	12. Chapter 12

Prologue

Chapter 11

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So they had eaten in near silence and went to bed- an eventful day ended by an uneventful evening. And Naruto hadn't even told Sasuke about his weekend-long project. If that wasn't the exact opposite of what he had been planning, he didn't know what was. Laying in bed staring at the ceiling in the dark gave him some time to think, which was desperately needed. Naruto sighed and rubbed a hand against his face.

He didn't know what on earth had possessed him to react so…cruelly to Sasuke's...friend? classmate? Come to think of it, he still wasn't entirely clear on that. Actually, he wasn't clear on a lot. Sasuke had _claimed _they weren't lovers, yet at the same time the boy knew Sasuke was an _Uchiha_. Something he would think that Sasuke would be trying desperately to hide. He was willing to run around at school under the name _Uzumaki _for kami's sake and yet he spouted off to some idiotic (and frankly, quite rude from what Naruto could tell) kid at school?

That seemed just a _tad _bit off.

Naruto let out a noise that was between and groan and a 'grrrr' as he flopped over onto his stomach. This was obviously something they were going to have to talk about again. This thought made Naruto cringe- he and Sasuke were clearly _not _good at talking.

Maybe it was another one of those Uchiha things, since Naruto had never been good at talking with…

Naruto abruptly cut himself off, knowing full well that any comparison between the two Uchihas would only be misleading and frustrating. Besides, he was almost positive that Sasuke deserved more credit than that. But who knew, any more?

Naruto pressed his face into his pillow and sighed, breathing in deeply. He cringed when a strange-familiar scent hit his nose- he had thought he had finally gotten rid of it. That scent. He'd washed his bedsheets over and over that day, the first day, thinking he could rid himself of that smell. Apparently the only way to be sure would be to buy an entire new set…What a waste…

Naruto screwed his eyes shut and forcefully breathed through his mouth. The last thing he needed was to go to sleep with the scent of _him _in his head…

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_…A tongue dipped into his mouth, sliding against his at a slow, infuriating pace. He dug his fingers into surprisingly soft skin until he felt the strong line of muscle. A soft, gasping noise escaped his throat and he bit down slightly on the long line of neck before him. There was a grunt and their hips jerked together and blond hair meshed with black for a moment as they pressed their flushed cheeks together, hot breath ghosting over the back of their necks. _

_And all it would take would be a moment more. A moment more…_

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Sasuke woke up with a jerk, his chest heaving and his body covered in sweat. He felt intensely awake, yet completely uncomprehending. Light filtered in through the windows and Sasuke stared helplessly at the room around him.

And he was hard.

A little shudder wove up his spine at the knowledge and he winced when a slight shift in his position caused his thighs to brush together in a way that caused…friction…

And it was _infuriating_.

It wasn't as if Sasuke had never had…dreams like that one before. He was a teenage male. But there was something off about this one. Something strangely…mortifying. Be he couldn't quite put his finger on…

"Sasuke? You awake?" A light tap on his door and a strong, still-slightly-rough morning voice rang through. And Sasuke felt a rush of heat flow through him in a way that made him scowl and suppress a blush.

"What?" He responded in a harsher than necessary tone. But, to be fair, he was hardly in any position to want to speak to _anyone_. Let alone…

"Uh- I was just wondering if you were up…" _Insert lewd joke here_. "so we could talk." Naruto continued to talk through the door, which made Sasuke immensely thankful (but no less furious.) After a deep breath and careful consideration, Sasuke decided that picking a fight right now would probably be a very _bad_ thing because then Naruto would probably get pissed off and barge in and…

Well, that was just not going to happen. So against his natural instincts, Sasuke called back

"Let me get dressed." There was a pause on the other side of the door and Sasuke wondered if Naruto was going to argue with him- which seemed incredibly unfair since Sasuke had chosen not to argue with _him_. But when had his life ever been fair, anyway?

"Sure. Okay. I'll just make breakfast." And just like that, Naruto was gone from his door, taking his stupid, obnoxious, husky voice with him. Which was perfect, except that

the faint sound of clattering dishes told Sasuke that Naruto was true to his word and was making breakfast. In the kitchen. Basically in the middle of the apartment. Effecitvely blocking of Sasuke's route to the bathroom.

No shower. No very cold shower.

Damnit.

Sasuke groaned and pulled himself up a bit more, trying not to shudder at the _awareness_. He slid his legs off the side of the bed so that he was sitting upright and hissed a little in shock- he had forgotten about the beating he had taken the day before. Pain shot up and down his sides and he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

It was enough, however, to take his mind off of another pressing problem he was having, and it provided him with a much needed solution.

Not the solution he would have chosen in the best of circumstances, perhaps, but this was _far_ from the best of circumstances…

Rising to his feet, Sasuke gripped the edges of his shirt and tugged it over his head, ignoring the slight sting of his bruised muscles. Walking over to the small dresser standing against the wall, he placed one hand on the smooth wood surface and placed the fingertips of his other hands on his injured side.

And pushed.

It hurt like hell. He grit his teeth stubbornly and continued to put pressure on the yellow-purple skin below his arm. He could hear the creak of his teeth as they pressed together and without even realizing it, he had screwed his eyes shut. But it was working- the heavy throbbing was fading and the remnants of last night's dream were vanishing with each second of self-inflicted agony. Sasuke's fingers slid a little and he caught a particularly sore chuck of muscle because his leg twitched reflexively and he swore out loud when his knee slammed against the dresser. The pain quickly faded in with the rest and Sasuke jammed his thumb into the curve of his hip with vicious efficiency.

His breath came out shaky and the hand resting on the dresser was trembling slightly. It was possible he was sweating. He was beginning to get dizzy from it.

"Sasuke?" Dark eyes snapped open. "Sasuke, I heard a noise, are you…" The slight click of a latch opening and the rustle of carpet as a door was pushed open. Sasuke turned, frozen, and felt a surge of panic at the open-mouthed, stunned expression on Naruto's face in his doorway.

He _knew_. The blond knew! He could see it, despite Sasuke's attempts- the blond knew! The color drained from Sasuke's face as his mind tried to desperately explain why he was….why he was…

"Oh my god, Sasuke, what happened!?" Naruto cried, blue eyes filling with concern. Sasuke froze, instantly confused. "Who did that to you?"

Who did….

Oh. Ooooooh. Sasuke felt himself breathe again and his fingers relaxed- he had been digging them into the wood rather hard. Naruto didn't _know_! He was staring at the bruises!

Oh.

Oh shit.

That's right- he was supposed to be hiding those too, wasn't he?

"Sasuke, who did that to you?" Naruto's voice had risen and he moved forward, grabbing Sasuke's arm and tugging it up so he could see the full length of Sasuke's side. A little jolt flew through Sasuke's body and the Uchiha glared at Naruto- if the blond was going to be concerned, could he at least do it gently? He _was _injured, after all.

"Let go."

"Where did you get these? Are these from last night? Did…did that kid…." Naruto's voice was bordering on a mix of frantic and furious.

"Let go, it's nothing!" Sasuke grumbled, pulling his arm free. His protest wasn't exactly convincing- his fingers were still twitching slightly and he couldn't help the wince that flashed across his face when he relaxed his arm. Naruto's blue eyes locked on his, and they narrowed.

"Sasuke, you are going to tell me what happened right. Now." The blond's voice was low and there was something malicious in his tone. Sasuke's breath came out a little sharper and faster. "_Sasuke_." The youngest Uchiha scowled and let his gaze focus on the corner of Naruto's jaw, away from confused blue eyes.

"It's no big deal, I just got caught up in some shit the other day." Sasuke responded grudgingly. Naruto tilted his head and Sasuke watched as the muscles in his jaw twitched with irritation.

"The other day….As in yesterday?" Naruto pressed, trying to catch Sasuke's eyes but the dark haired male was carefully avoiding it. "What kind of 'shit' did you get caught up in, exactly?" Sasuke remained silent and Naruto took an abrupt step forward so that he was rather viciously cutting in on Sasuke's personal space. Out of habit, Sasuke glared at him and immediately regretted it because Naruto's eyes were very blue and very concerned and very _frustrating_. "Does this have anything to do with that kid knowing you are an Uchiha? It does, doesn't it? Did he do this?"

"No." Sasuke snapped defensively. "It's none of your business."

"The hell it's not! You get beat to hell and it's not my business? You could be hurt- you could have a broken rib, or internal bleeding, or…"  
"I said I was fine!" Sasuke growled, pushing forward so that Naruto had to move back a bit. The blond refused to back down, however, and two ended up chest-to-chest with Sasuke's face only inches from Naruto's. Sasuke felt some dark pride at the fact that Naruto was so close to his height- he would pass him up surely- and stared at the older man stubbornly. "I am _not_ a child."

"You're sixteen!" Naruto snarled. "Being an Uchiha doesn't make you an adult!"

"And living with me doesn't make you my mother!" Naruto's eyes became slits and something dark and dangerous crossed his face.

"Pack your things." He snapped, whirling away from Sasuke and throwing open the small closet that was (unofficially) Sasuke's.

"What?" Sasuke couldn't help the slight tone of shock and something akin to horror in his voice. Had Naruto just said what he _thought _Naruto had just said?

Sure enough seconds later Naruto came out with Sasuke's suitcase and one arm full of sloppily collected clothes that he had yanked off hangers. Sasuke stood there, frozen, unable to get his feet to move. Naruto was…

Naruto was kicking him out. There was a few brief seconds of blissful numbness before Sasuke felt the strange, uncomfortable tightening in his chest and the dull roar in his skull. Naruto was kicking him out, just like that. After all that nonsense he'd been spouting, he was just going to shove Sasuke out the door.

"If you're not going to fucking talk to me, then there's no way this is going to work. Who knows what will happen, huh? I'm away for ONE DAY and you don't bother to tell me that someone hurt you. There's no way you're staying here." Naruto was rambling as he shoved clothes into Sasuke's suitcase. It almost seemed as if he was talking to himself more than anyone, as his words were disjointed and jumbled. Not that Sasuke would have understood him anyway. Shock still had a firm grip on Sasuke's body and his mind was having a terrible time of comprehending anything beyond the vague idea that Naruto had betrayed him.

Which didn't make any sense at all because Naruto _couldn't_ betray him because Naruto didn't owe him _anything_. Naruto had no obligation to him whatsoever. It's not like they were friends, or something…

"…There's no way. I'll come back and you'll be dead or something! What else am I supposed to do? Hire a babysitter? Goddamnit, why won't this fit? Get. In. There." Naruto ground out as he mindlessly continued to gather Sasuke's things and shove them all into one suitcase. "It's three days. _Three days_. I'll just call Hinata and have her get me two rooms. That's all there is to it. You'll have to come with me."

Come with him? _Come with him_?

"What in the hell is going on!?" Sasuke roared, suddenly his mind and body were one again and he was _pissed_. Naruto's head jerked up and he stared at Sasuke, jaw hanging open slightly- Sasuke Uchiha had just _yelled. _Not growled, not snarled, not hissed- good old fashioned _yelled_. His voice had been deep and harsh and Naruto could _swear _he was taller all of the sudden…

This had all gotten very out of hand, as it always did whenever Naruto and Sasuke were in one room together. Sasuke was looking all dark and menacing and...

Intense.

Naruto unconscious licked his lips, feeling suddenly very dry, and straightened so that they were staring at each other.

"Sasuke." Naruto's voice sounded odd and slightly alien, even to him. He felt incredibly…unattached to his body. Which is why he was startled to find himself suddenly standing in front of the younger man again- he hadn't even felt his feet move. Sasuke stared up a him, still shirtless, his pale skin contrasting the bruises viciously. The expression on his face was still stormy and he looked at Naruto with some strange brand of resentment on his face.

And whoever it was who was controlling Naruto's body must have a death wish because the next thing the blond knew he was pulling Sasuke into his arms and resting his cheek against the top of Sasuke's head. The young Uchiha stiffened and his arms remained crossed over his chest, making the embrace more than little uncomfortable fore Naruto.

"I have to take care of you. How can I do that if you don't talk to me?" Naruto murmured against the dark strands of Sasuke's hair. "I'll have to watch out for you the hard way then. Get your things ready- we're leaving tonight. I have a job that's out of town and you're coming with me. I won't risk you getting hurt worse while I'm gone."

And then Naruto's arms lifted and he walked away, not looking at Sasuke again. Which was probably a good thing, because for the length of the embrace Sasuke had stopped breathing and his lips were turning slightly blue.

And he was warm, so very, very warm.

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Author's notes

This chapter is _weird_. Even I was writing it I was like "What the fuck?" But it accomplished what I needed it to, so whatever. Besides, I'm still not entirely sure that "What the fuck" is a bad thing. This will require much more research and a LOT more trained iguanas.

That's all I got for ya. (I know, I know, you were all excited and awaiting this chapter purely so you could read my author's notes and now you're going to send me angry emails about how my author's notes suck and how you shall never, ever, read anything I write ever again.)

You'll live. And I will ramble on another date…trust me, 90 of what I say is rambling nonsense.

Adieu,

AthenaAlpha


	13. Chapter 13

Prologue

Chapter 12

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Sasuke's eyes followed the horizon as it flew by, noting the drastic changes that seemed to take place the further they got from the city. It had taken about an hour to reach the outskirts of the mass of buildings and Sasuke was slightly discomforting that he could not longer see _anything_. At least when they had left the city lights had allowed for nearly daylight-equivalent vision. Now he was forced to make out the shadow figures of trees and hills with only moonlight and squinted eyes.

His head started to droop a bit and Sasuke jerked himself violently awake. Shooting a glance other his shoulder, Sasuke found it quite sickening that Naruto seemed fully alert and awake, humming slightly to the song playing quietly on the radio and drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. One day Sasuke would find out where Naruto's secret supply of energy came from and then he would be _unstoppable_.

This thought was quite ridiculous and Sasuke had to suppress and snort- a lack of sleep was making him slightly….

_Urgh_

…giddy.

"You _can _go to sleep, you know. We still have a couple hours to go and it would do you good." Naruto's voice still seemed suspiciously in tune with the song he was listening to and Sasuke shot him a glare that was slightly dampened by the fact that his eyelids keep dropping without his permission.

"And risk you falling asleep and the wheel and sending us both flying into some ditch somewhere? Not likely." Sasuke grumbled. His dark head fell back against the seat and he closed his eyes, promising himself that he would just rest them, just for a moment.

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Two hours later Sasuke was jerked forward against a rather stubborn seat belt as the car pulled to a stop. His head jerked around and he stared, bewildered, at the still sickeningly awake Naruto. How in the hell _that _was even possible, Sasuke had no idea.

As if hearing Sasuke's question, Naruto smirked at the younger male.

"Just wait until you get to college. You never know how little sleep you need until you have an unnecessarily difficult mid term in a class you forgot to attend on a weekly basis." Sasuke rolled his eyes and grumbled something under his breath that didn't make _any _sense but made him feel better about falling asleep by accident. His eyes closed again and Sasuke decided that this was more than enough of this nonsense, he was going back to sleep.

"Oh no you don't. Come on, we have unpacking to do." Naruto informed him cheerily, grabbing Sasuke's shoulder and shaking him slightly. Sasuke scowled and opened one dark eye, staring at him with distaste.

"What?" He snapped, thoroughly confused.

"We're _there_, sleeping beauty." Naruto informed him. Sasuke's other eye opened and he turned slightly so that he was staring out the windshield. Well so they were. It was bigger than Sasuke had been expecting (not that that was saying much), looking slightly like a minature version of the ski lodges he and his family had frequented during mid winter. A light on the outside allowed Sasuke to see a slender stone path leading up to the door and through the windows the glow of more lights could be seen- there were people inside. For the first time Sasuke found himself asking just exactly where they were. Naruto had said little about the whole affair well they were packing and had spent the extent of the car ride (or the part Sasuke had been awake for, anyway) telling Sasuke the life story of some American rock band that made Sasuke think of blimps for some reason.

Sasuke had been too drained to question him.

Climbing out of the car, Sasuke headed to the trunk where Naruto was already yanking the bags out. Carefully rescuing his own luggage (Naruto had tossed his own haphazardly to the ground), Sasuke sat them gently on the ground and with a roll of his eyes shoved one of Naruto's shirts back into the top of his partially open suitcase before zipping it up.

"So, where exactly are we?"

"The Sabushi lodge. Usually it's reserved to visting donators or wildlife specialists, but they're making a special exception for us." Naruto informed him as he slammed the trunk shut and sloppily picked up his luggage, juggling it for a few minutes before moving up to stand beside Sasuke.

"Sabushi?" Sasuke repeated, trying to remember if the name rang any bells.

"It's a nonprofit wildlife organization. They're best known for their protests on foresting and the movement to save the lake outside of Tokyo last year." Naruto answered as he struggled up the pathway. "Oh, and they're connection with the Hyuuga clan, of course."

Hyuuga?

As in….

"Welcome." Sasuke was abruptly jerked out of his thoughts when the door of the lodge opened and a tall, slightly familiar figure emerged from within. Naruto dropped his bags.

"Neji." The long haired male's eyes curved upward slightly in a smile that didn't reach his mouth. He didn't even glance at Sasuke, which the Uchiha found rather irritating. He just continued to gaze, unblinking, at the clearly startled blond.

"Hinata-san sent me to meet you. She thought it would make you feel…at home." Naruto slowly bent down to re-gather his bags, but his eyes remained rooted on Neji.

"Hinata..." Naruto repeated softly. One of Neji's elegantly arched eyebrows rasied.

"You are here under her employ, are you not?" Sasuke had to stop himself from scowling. There was something about Neji's tone that made him want to growl. He sounded _knowing_. Infuriatingly, arrogantly, _knowing_. Plus, the pompous overly grammatical way he spoke reminded Sasuke vaguely of old men who pretended to be wise just because they'd been around long enough to grow mold.

"Ah." Naruto sighed softly. "Of course." Neji bowed his head slightly and moved carefully from the doorway, holding it open so they could enter. Naruto squeezed through, bags clattering against the doorframe yet somehow missing the strange, pale eyed male who _still _hadn't stopped staring at him. It wasn't until Naruto was passed Neji and it would have involved Neji _craning his neck _to continue his intense examination that Neji's eye finally met Sasuke's.

And he smirked.

"Uchiha-san." Sasuke noted darkly that when Neji dipped his head forward that it seemed more mocking than respectful. "Or should I say Uzumaki-san?" His voice was low enough that Naruto, who continued retreating into the main room of the lodge, couldn't hear.

"Uchiha-san is fine _Thanks_." The last word came out harsh and gritted. And now the bastard was amused.

Great.

"Uchiha-san." Neji responded softly. "Welcome."

And Sasuke suddenly wanted, very much, to sock him in the face.

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If Hinata wasn't naively innocent and completely unaware, Naruto would have been furious with her. Because of all the people in the world Naruto needed to see right now, her cousin wasn't one of them. But of course, there he was, the first thing Naruto sees.

Damnation.

He was smiling in true Hyuuga clan fashion, his pale eyes warming and softening in an almost liquid way, while the elegant planes of his cheeks stayed frozen and his mouth remained carefully straight. Naruto wondered if he should be smiling back, but somehow couldn't get his facial muscles to respond so he gave up and settled for simply staring helplessly at the younger-yet-taller male. He vaguely recognized that Neji was speaking and he was responding, yet somehow all that registered was that Neji was staring at him unyieldingly.

And using that utterly _maddening _tone of voice.

Quite desperate to get away from Neji's intense stare, Naruto hurriedly entered the lodge, forgetting Sasuke was behind him completely as he all but stumbled into the main room. His bags collapsed messily onto the ground with a thud and the heads of the people in the room all shot up to stare at him. Naruto suppressed a blush when he realized he had just burst into what looked suspiciously like a meeting. Four elegantly red couches were turned to form a loose square around a long wooden table.

"Uzumaki-san has arrived." Neji murmured, coming up behind Naruto and causing the blond to glance up sheepishly. Sasuke appeared on his other side, and Naruto was surprised to see that he looked rather…

Pissed.

"Naruto-kun." A slender, dark-haired female rose and beside him both Neji and Sasuke stiffened. Naruto chose not to wonder what that meant. "Welcome." Her voice was soft and her eyes were warm- and unlike Neji, her smile actually reached down to soft, pale lips. Naruto bowed his head respectfully and shot her a warm smile.

"Hinata-chan. It's good to see you again. You seem well." She bit her lip slightly and pushed a few strands of dark hair back.

"My treatment is going…well." She nearly whispered. Neji clenched his fists and Naruto's jaw tightened instinctively.

"I'm so glad." Naruto could help the tremor in his voice.

There were only three days that Naruto qualified as truly bad days in his entire life. The day he learned that his childhood friend and one of the kindest people he knew had leukemia definitely qualified.

Hinata approached him, touching his arms and gently pressed her cheek against each of his, one at a time. It was a simple sign of affection that few women of her stature could get away with, but Hinata carried such an innocent, childlikeness about her that the action seemed appropriate. It seemed…necessary.

Hinata pulled away, smiling gently up at him before turning her pale eyes toward Sasuke. Her smile widened and she bowed her head in welcome. She said nothing, simply gazing at him warmly. After a few minutes Sasuke shifted, uncomfortable under her eyes.

"…Hello." Sasuke finally grumbled, his tone reluctant. Naruto glanced over at him curiously and was surprised to find that Sasuke's pale features were tinged a slight red and his shoulders were pushed back at an angle that made him look uncomfortable.

He was embarrassed.

"Oh, Hinata-chan, I'd like you to meet Sasuke." The Uchiha looked slightly furious for a brief second and Naruto wondered if maybe a late introduction was worse than no introduction at all.

"Welcome Sasuke-kun. I am so pleased to have you here." Whatever ill will Sasuke had felt seemed to cool under Hinata's gentle stare and soothing voice. Naruto tried not to let his pride show just then- being Hinata's friend had always been a great source of conceit for him.

"Thank you." Sasuke responded gently, bowing in return and Naruto noticed his fingers were twitching oddly.

"Your presence was unexpected, however." Neji's voice was shockingly close to Naruto's ear and the blond couldn't help but be annoyed that someone two years younger than him could be taller.

Damn Hyuuga genetics.

"Is that a problem?" Sasuke snapped, glaring past Naruto and at the slender, dark haired male beside him, breathing down his neck. Naruto found it strange, not being at the receiving end of the dark glare. It was almost like having an out of body experience.

"Of course not." Hinata interjected smoothly. "We simply have to adjust the sleeping arrangements." Naruto frowned.

"But isn't the lodge a four bedroom?"

"Yes. I am staying in the first bedroom with Tenten. Shino is staying in the smallest bedroom downstairs, with only a single bed. There are only two other rooms…." She apologized softly, her fingers twiddling nervously. Naruto resisted the urge to reach out and grasp her fingers lovingly.

"Oh." Naruto responded oh-so-cleverly. "So….."

"So two of you will have to share a room."

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Author's notes

Yes, I know this seems like a classic SasuNaru set up- a mysterious lack of room forces Sasuke and Naruto into the save sleeping space were tension grows between them and they are inevitably drawn to one another, blah blah, blah. Well if you ever want them to make out, you take what I give you!

Plus, who says I have to follow the rules on this one? They could both end up sleeping outside or something. Like, in a tree. How romantic would that be….

Sorry it took so long, by the way. My family was in town and I was busy entertaining. I love my family, but four days after not seeing them for three months- they more or less wouldn't let me out of their sight. Plus, they kept feeding me! I think I might explode. Honestly! Every five seconds it was like "are you hungry?" 'No' "Oh, well here's some food anyway."

I think I put on ten pounds in four days….

Sincerely,

The blimp formerly known as AthenaAlpha

P.S. I don't like this chapter. It's too choppy for my tastes. But I'll try harder to make the next chapter a good one.

…

…

I hope…


	14. Chapter 14

Prologue

Chapter 13

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Kiba dragged his tongue across his teeth slowly, wincing slightly at the familiar taste of tobacco. Hinata had always hated the smell of smoke and if she knew that he was still sneaking cigarettes she'd be…well, not angry. Hinata was rarely ever angry. Hurt, maybe, that he had lied to her.

Scoffing slightly to himself, he dug the toe of his shoe into the dirt and tossed the last nub of cigarette away casually. The sky was an odd shade of blue gray and Kiba had been waiting for the rain all day. Lucky him, it was holding back just long enough to _not _provide him any cover during the last moments of daylight.

But he liked the color of the sky today. It reminded him of….

A sleek black car pulled up across the street and Kiba ground his teeth together hesitantly. The headlights flashed and the car pulled away. Kiba turned around and made his way back through the alley until he had come around to the other side of the building where it was waiting. The windows were tinted enough to hinder anyone's view from the outside, but not dark enough to look suspicious. He could still make out the shape of the person inside. He walked alongside the car for a moment, before resting his back against the passenger door and pulling out another cigarette. The window rolled down.

"Hello Kiba-kun." The dark haired teen scowled at the unlit cigarette darkly and nodded in response. "How are you?"

"Fine. Thanks for asking." Kiba grunted sharply, his response as sincere as the question deserved. "Got a light?" He waved the slender white stick in front of the window without turning around. The figure inside didn't respond and Kiba smirked to himself. He coolly pulled out his own lighter and snapped it open, watching as it ignited.

"I see you are preparing yourself for high society." The voice inside the car drawled. "The lovely little Hyuuga girl must be so proud." Kiba slammed the back of his fist against the car as hard as he dared.

"What in the hell did you call me here for, anyway?" He snapped, staring at his lighter intently. He didn't really want to think about Hinata right now.

"You know why."

"Isn't it a bit early in the game? I just met the kid." Kiba commented, decidedly shoving his lighter back into his pocket but not getting rid of the cigarette just yet.

"My employer is anxious."

"Then maybe he should do it himself. This is already more trouble than I had intended. You didn't tell me the kid was friends with the Hyuugas." Kiba growled back with irritation. What might have been considered chuckling came from within the car, though it sounded more like hurried and raspy breathing.

"Concerned that this will interfere with your budding relationship with the heir of the Hyuuga clan? I'm sure you'll have just as much of a chance with her after this job as you did before." Kiba tried to pretend the back of his throat wasn't burning and that the dull thud in his chest was just from the strange weather.

"They're out of town for now. I saw them leave this morning." Kiba grumbled. "I'll get in touch with you as soon as I know anything else."

"Pay close attention, Kiba-kun. This job means a lot to my employer and he is…depending on you to keep a sharp eye out. Do you understand?" Kiba pushed off the car so that he was standing upright and for the first time turned to stare directly into the small opening provided by the car window. He could just faintly make out a pair of sharp, glittering eyes in the half-light. He nodded but didn't bother to hide his annoyance. He could practically sense the twisted amusement of the figure inside.

"And don't forget the benefits of this job, Kiba-kun. We are being ever so generous with you." The car abruptly pulled away, leaving Kiba staring at the empty space in front of him bleakly.

The sky was a little bit darker now and Kiba wondered if that's what Hinata's eyes looked like when she cried.

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His navy jersey was surprisingly wrinkled considering the how carefully he had packed his clothes. He blamed the ride here- his black jeans were in a pretty unfortunate state as well. Carefully refolding his clothes, Sasuke calmly placed them into the half-dresser that was his for the weekend. Really, he shouldn't have been that surprised when Naruto decided the only fair way to choose who was sharing a room was to roll a die. The two lowest numbers had to share. Sasuke rolled a four. Neji rolled a five.

Naruto rolled a six.

Sasuke glared at the ceiling, the feeling of eyes on his back persistent and irritating. But he knew better than to say anything. Neji seemed to get some sick pleasure out of irritating him.

"The silent treatment." It seemed slightly cruel to have broken such a thick silence like that. Neji must be some kind of sadist, he was positive now. "How very mature of you."

"I wasn't aware there was anything that needed to be said." Sasuke responded stiffly, continuing his work calmly, pale fingers sinking into dark fabric.

"You're still in school." Neji commented thoughtfully. "Kiba said you were in his class. Seventeen maybe? Or a tad younger?" There was something in his tone that made Sasuke believe he was building up to something. Deciding to play uninterested, he tucked his shorts into the dresser, frowning a bit when he noticed it was overfull and he had to push the clothes together hard so the drawer would close.

"Around an eight year difference in age." Neji continued softly, almost as if he were talking to himself. Sasuke scowled as he refolded a few more of his shirts. Why had he packed the white short sleeved one? He never wore it if he could help it. Damn. "You are very different from him when he was your age." This statement cast a strange silence over the room as Sasuke digested the idea of Neji speaking to him about…_him. _

"Did you know I knew him?" Neji's gaze didn't waver from Sasuke's face, which seemed frozen for the moment. "I knew him very well. It was through me that he and Naruto met…though that was hardly my intention." A note of sharp distaste rang in Neji's tone and Sasuke tilted his head enough to watch his expression out of the corner of his eye. "I had meant to have Naruto for myself."

Sasuke's head shot up and for the first time he looked Neji head on, black eyes clashing with gray-white. Neji was sitting on the edge of the bed, perched like a bird, his back oddly straight. He was obviously well trained- his fingers crossed gently on his bent knees and his gaze directed down at like he was passing judgment.

"Naruto-kun has been a dear friend to me- to my entire family." Neji clenched his fingers, his eyes tightening in the corners and Sasuke got the distinct feeling that Neji was looking _through _him. As if Sasuke were just a catalyst he was using to communicate with… "I would have taken care of him. I would have loved him." There was another silence, like Neji was giving the dark cloud time to gather and fill with rain.

"But I couldn't protect him from your brother." Neji twisted his head slightly, tilting up his chin. He looked like a king- pale and ominous and towering. "Do I need to protect him from _you_?" Sasuke was on his feet with his hands clenched to his sides before he even understood what was really happening.

"I am _not _him." Sasuke carefully unfurled his fingers so that they rested against his outer thighs, breathing heavily.

"You didn't answer my question." Neji whispered, still staring at Sasuke from his spot on the bed, looking unfazed by Sasuke's show of dominance. Sasuke jerked forward hesitantly, wanting very much to punch the Hyuuga in his calm, arrogant….

"Sasuke-kun! Neji-kun! Dinner's ready!" Hinata's soft voice traveled with surprising efficiency and both males turned to stare at the door as if they expected her to pop her head in to make sure they were washed up and prepared.

"YEAH! Get your asses in here! Hinata made _ramen_." Sasuke practically stumbled at the idiotic statement that practically defused all the tension in the small room. Neji's lip twitched into an almost smile and rose smoothly to his feet.

"Hinata has been waiting to cook for Naruto for some time." Neji commented softly, moving toward the door. Sasuke's hand shot out, grabbing the older male's elbow sharply. Neji turned, pale eyes looking him over curiously.

"I have no reason to hurt him." Sasuke's expression was intense and he looked older, for a moment, shadows drawing unnatural lines around his face.

"Neither did Itachi." Neji offered coolly, pulling free from Sasuke's grip and heading toward the kitchen.

It occurred to Sasuke, after Neji was out of his view, how long it had been since he'd heard his brother's name spoken out loud.

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Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose slowly, massaging the skin their slightly before sinking back down onto the sofa, his coffee mug steaming in his hand. Papers were strewn around the table, looking only slightly organized in half-formed piles. The open window allowed the faint scent of the rain that was coming to trickle in and Shikamaru scowled.

"This could be more trouble for Naruto than I had anticipated." He admitted softly, setting his mug down carefully and stretching his arms over the back of the couch. Ino chose that moment to slide up against him, running her hand up his exposed side and resting her forehead in the curve of his neck.

"I still don't see how. It's not like he skipped town with millions of dollars." She played with the material of his vest aimlessly, sliding her hand in and out over top of his button up shirt. He frowned deeply, not acknowledging how soothing the motion was, even if they both knew it.

"Billions, actually. And Naruto and Sasuke were the closest people to him before he left. If there are people after that money- and there most definitely is- they'll go to them first." Ino bit her bottom lip and tugged on his tie gently until it began to come undone.

"I see how that could be a problem. What exactly is it that _you _plan to do about it, Mr. Private Detective?" His tie was now undone and laying in a heap on the floor as she began to push his vest off his shoulders.

"Me? Nothing. I find information, I don't act on it." Ino was undoing his buttons with the patient efficiency that she always had when she was concerned. And of course, she was nipping at his chin, which she only did when she was pleased with him.

"But I'm worried about Naruto. He's never been able to keep himself out of trouble." She must have just gotten her nails done, because they were scratching a little deeper than usual tonight.

"So what are you gonna do?" Ino took the liberty of removing her own blouse, knowing full well that she was not prepared for Shikamaru to do it at his own pace.

"Kakashi said he'd handle it." Shikamaru muttered dryly. "And he didn't give me much of a chance to ask _how_."

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Kakashi dragged his finger along the ink slowly, watching as the dark color spread. Pulling back, he studied this blackened finger thoughtfully.

"You've gotten better." He commented, turning to see Sai enter the room with a tea tray balanced against his palms. The dark haired artist nodded silently, setting the tray down on the small table beside Kakashi that had been cleared of brushes and paint. The teacups wobbled slightly with the impact. "Your brother?"

"Yes." Sai answered softly, pouring the tea without looking up at the painting Kakashi was studying to intently.

"You haven't gotten the eyes yet, I noticed." Sai's dark eyes rose slowly and he handed Kakashi his cup.

"No. They are…difficult." He admitted, reaching out to gently trace the rim of the eyes with his bare finger. He stared into the white, blank eyes with that same expressionless calm that he used on all his paintings. But there was something regretful in the way he gently used this thumb to try and scrub away the smear Kakashi had created earlier.

"I came to ask for your help, Sai." Kakashi's voice softened and he sipped at the hot liquid carefully. "Naruto is in danger. Sasuke as well, I believe."

"What help will a painter be?" Sai asked, that strange smile of his creeping across his face.

"I thought perhaps you could put some of your other talents to use here." Kakashi dipped the tip of his paint-discolored finger into the tea and swirled it slowly.

"Other talents? Why, whatever do you mean Hatake-san?" There was the faint sound of dark chuckling in his tone. Kakashi sighed and looked away from where Sai stood against his painting, it felt very much like he was intruding on something private.

"I don't have time for this, Sai. Your brother is dead. The people responsible paid for it. But that doesn't make him any less dead. I'm giving you the chance to protect someone precious to you." Kakashi tried to ignore the nagging voice in the back of his head that said he was being cruel. "Don't play games here."

"Don't misunderstand me, Hatake-san. I am fully aware of what you are asking of me. And I am prepared to do anything you ask." Sai reached out and gently picked up a paintbrush, dipping it gently into one of the pallets and painting in the irises.

"Weren't your brother's eyes brown?" Kakashi asked curiously, rising to stand next to the distracted artist.

"Yes." Sai agreed calmly before setting down the first brush and picking up another dipped in black so he could add two dark pupils to the center of bright blue eyes. "Dark brown."

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Author's notes

Well, my internship ended and I had to move myself back across several states so I could go home…How sad….

Because now I'll have even less access to internet! (SOBBING UNCONTROLLABLY)

No, don't try to comfort me. I'm beyond comfort. Heart breaking. DON'T LET IT END THIS WAY!!

…

….

Uh, anyway, sorry about the wait, as always. I'd make excuses but their really are none other than the fact that I have to force myself through these chapters for some reason. It's weird, I know where the story is going, I just can't get it there…how irritating…

I'm trying, and I'm still getting it done, so that's all I can really offer right now. The pace is slow, but still a pace, so I guess that's something…

(I'm sticking my tongue out at myself right now. How mature am I?)

Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Lots ah luv,

AthenaAlpha


	15. Chapter 15

Prologue

Chapter 14

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Sasuke took the opportunity at dinner to silently mull over all that Neji had said. He also couldn't help but take this chance to watch how the two Hyuugas and Naruto interacted. Sasuke shoved his chopsticks through the broth of his ramen slowly, grimacing slightly at the table when Naruto laughed loudly at something Neji said.

"Oh kami! I remember! Gai, that freak! He was such a monster on set. Always demanding that the models be properly 'oiled' for maximum 'shine'. Half of them couldn't even walk, their feet slid so much!" Hinata covered her mouth, smothering her quiet laughter. Most of dinner had been like this- anecdotes and stories about things and people Sasuke knew nothing about. He had never seen Naruto smile so much.

Sasuke sat down his chopsticks gently and let his gaze shift discreetly over to Neji, who was seated across from him. He was smiling warmly and watching Naruto with amused fascination, occasionally twitching his wrist so that the noodles cooling in his bowl swirled around listlessly. Naruto laughed again and Neji's shoulders jerked instinctively, causing Neji to lean into the blond before he could restrain himself.

"Is everything alright, Sasuke?" Hinata's voice came out of nowhere and Sasuke jerked around to meet concerned opaque eyes. "You've barely eaten." And suddenly, just like that, everyone was staring at him and Sasuke went from being completely ignored to feeling like a specimen under a microscope.

"No way! You haven't eaten at all! You must be starving." Naruto leaded over the table top to look into Sasuke's bowl. Sasuke leaned back against his seat as Naruto practically hovered over his lap. "You haven't eaten all day, have you?" Naruto turned, pinning Sasuke with a stern, disapproving expression. Sasuke's head thunked against the back of his chair as he tried to move away, Naruto's breath brushed slightly across the bridge of his nose as he spoke.

"The stink of ramen on your breath isn't exactly helping my appetite, dobe." Sasuke grumbled, turning away so that he didn't have to stare directly into Naruto's suspicious blue eyes. The idiot had no concept of personal space. Naruto's cheeks flushed slightly and he glowered at Sasuke.

"Hey, mind your manners bastard! You're a guest here!" Naruto snapped, shoving himself back into his chair with a loud thump. Sasuke released the breath he had been holding (and when had that happened, exactly?) and swallowed quite loudly- or, at least, it sounded quite loud to Sasuke.

"You're the one arguing at the table dumbass." Sasuke choked out, reaching for his chopsticks. "Now shut up so I can eat." Sasuke gently dipped the smooth tips into the broth and caught a few of the noodles. Naruto just gaped at him with confusion before he rolled his eyes and muttered something about 'twisted bastards' and grabbed his own ramen bowl roughly before tilting the broth into his mouth. Sasuke snickered despite himself at the blond's slovenly behavior. And who was teaching who about table manners?

With grace befitting an Uchiha, Sasuke pulled a long strand of noodles into his mouth and noted with grudging respect that there was a big difference between Hinata's ramen and the ramen stocked in Naruto's cupboards. Several bites in he realized he was being watched and looked up to see Neji smirking at him. Resting the side of his chopsticks against the side of his bowl he frowned at the slightly older male, meeting his eyes stubbornly. Neji's smirk began to tilt into a smile.

Sasuke suppressed the urge to shift under his gaze and simply tilted his chin and narrowed his dark eyes. Whatever Neji thought he knew, whatever Neji thought he understood, he was wrong. Slowly glancing over, Sasuke noted that Naruto had moved past their little argument and was speaking happily with Hinata.

But Neji continued to stare at him expectantly.

Sasuke rotated his grip on the chopsticks while ideas spun around in his head. It seemed like Neji wanted something from him. Or was expecting something from him and if his slight smirk and tilted brow was any indication, Sasuke was performing exactly to his expectations. Out of nowhere Naruto leaned into him, shoving him slightly with his elbow and grinning wickedly. Apparently Hinata had just suggested taking Sasuke to see a real photo shoot and Naruto was cracking some perverted joke about Sasuke being 'set free' among a group of half naked girls.

Sasuke rolled his eyes but noted that Naruto's shoulder was pressed firmly against his and their knees brushed. The blond pulled away and continued to talk animatedly with Hinata and Sasuke loosened his grip, letting his knuckles relax and his fingers straighten.

And then Neji laughed. Or, he released a soft breath that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle. And Sasuke looked up to see what the hell was so funny. Neji's eyes were dark and he looked positively triumphant.

That was when Sasuke realized it.

He had a crush on Uzumaki Naruto.

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Sasuke had trouble sleeping again. He was acutely aware of the fact that this was not his bed (and his bed now meant the bed in Naruto's spare room. When that had happened, he wasn't sure) and he knew for a fact that the tap in the bathroom next door to them was leaking because he could hear the drip. There was also the suffocating awareness that Neji was in the bed right beside his. His legs itched for him to get up and move around, pace maybe, but he couldn't give Neji the satisfaction of knowing he was worked up.

Especially since it seemed like Neji knew far too much about him already.

Sasuke gritted his teeth silently and clenched the bed sheets between his fingers. His revelation earlier had come upon him so suddenly that Sasuke hadn't gotten much of a chance to come to terms with it. The first obstacle was his irritation that Neji had known before he had- his mind wouldn't let him move past this troublesome fact and let him work on the real issues. How had Neji known? Sasuke was no giggling schoolgirl. It couldn't have been the way he _acted _around Naruto because Neji had seemed to know before he even saw them together.

In the alley, after those guys attacked him. Neji had had that knowing look then too. Was it something ingrained in Sasuke? Maybe there was some sort of mental deficiency in the Uchiha line that made falling for someone five years older than you _and _your brother's former lover seem like a good idea?

Or was it something about Sasuke himself?

Sasuke remembered the look in Neji's eyes earlier that day when he had talked about his own attraction for Naruto. There was something about the way Neji spoke about Naruto that Sasuke hadn't really noticed until now, thinking back on it.

Neji had sounded defeated and _happy about it_. The Hyuuga was proud and quite obviously arrogant (Sasuke couldn't deny the slight resemblance there) and Sasuke highly doubted falling for someone like Naruto was something the older teen imagined for himself. Neji had probably fought with himself over his feelings for a long time.

Was Naruto really that special? For Neji to _want _to love him even while knowing it was hopeless?

There was a soft, muted drip from the bathroom and Sasuke reminded himself that calling a plumber at this time of night would seem neurotic.

Naruto was…._beautiful_. Sasuke could understand a physical attraction to him, at least…although he had to admit that it was an interesting coincidence that he knew so many eligible gay men. Like Naruto was the sun of the homosexual world?

Sasuke smiled a little to himself, glad that it was dark and there was no one watching to make him feel like he had to suppress it.

I am the moon and Naruto is as the sun…..

Sasuke rubbed his face with the heel of his hand to drive away these ridiculous thoughts. It was now three in the morning and that excused his brain's maudlin rambling.

If he really _was _the moon, wouldn't that imply that he and Naruto would always be on opposite ends, never together?

Well, there's always an eclipse.

And that thought was so ridiculous that Sasuke began to laugh hysterically. He didn't even get a chance to marvel at himself because Uchihas _do not _break into hysterics. He also didn't even realize that at some point during his little mental-poetry session Neji had woken up and was watching him silently.

Because during his little fit of insane laughter, Sasuke fell dead asleep.

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Naruto woke up with a smile on his face and an awkward cramp in his neck. Today he was going to prep the area for the photo shoot. Hinata had explained most of the details during dinner the night before and he was ecstatic. It had been a long time since he had felt this good about a project and he loved being a part of a good cause.

Plus, this gave him an excuse to go hiking. A pastime he adored but barely got to partake in now that he lived in the city. It was a pity Hinata and Neji couldn't come- though her condition _was _improving, the doctors had specifically forbid Hinata from strenuous exercise and Neji wouldn't dream of leaving her side.

Naruto paused for a moment in getting dressed and felt a sudden deep sadness gather in his chest. Shaking his head wildly causing his blond hair to whip around his face in a shower of mussy spikes, Naruto release the tension form his body and focused on his task. He pulled a black t-shirt over his head and he pulled on his pants with one hand while brushing his teeth with the other. He couldn't suppress his smile, so little bits of toothpaste foam kept sliding down his chin.

"You look rabid." Naruto jerked his head to the side, only one pant leg pulled up and his toothbrush dangling from his mouth. Neji was standing in the doorway, his hair pulled back and dressed all in white. Naruto laughed and the toothbrush fell from his mouth and clattered into the sink sending bits of toothpaste everywhere.

"whoopsh" Naruto murmured and grabbed a towel to wipe down the mirror and countertop before rinsing out his mouth. Neji waited patiently for him to finish dressing before he spoke again.

"I prepared breakfast. Hinata-san sends her apologies, but she's not feeling well and is resting. Uchiha-san is getting dressed and will be out for breakfast." Brushing a loose strand of black hair away from his face Neji moved to allow Naruto to slip past as they made their way to the kitchen.

"You are the best wife ever." Naruto told him with a wide grin. Neji shot him a cool, disapproving look that almost kept Naruto from noticing the slight smile on his face. Letting out a mental sigh of relief, Naruto congratulated himself on getting over the initial awkwardness of seeing Neji again.

He should have known that no amount of emotional tension could ever really ruin his friendship with Neji. He was too stubborn and Neji was too loyal.

"Whatever. Uchiha-san insisted on packing his own bag." Neji had a tone that clearly said he wanted to roll his eyes. Naruto's grin grew and he pushed the door to the kitchen open.

"Yeah, well as long as I've known him Sasuke's always been a stubborn bastard." Turning to see Sasuke sitting at the table and staring at him blankly Naruto added. "It's one of the few things we have in common." Sasuke's eyebrow rose and he glanced suspiciously between the two of them.

"Good morning Sasuke. Sleep well?" Naruto chirped and grabbed a plate, piling on some of the fruit set in the middle of the table.

"What were you two talking about?" Sasuke demanded and if Naruto hadn't been so busy shoveling grapefruit into his mouth he would have seen Sasuke shooting Neji a look that was laced with suspicion. Neji smiled and sat down across from Naruto and he began to peel an orange.

"You should try to make it to the opposite side of the first ridge before noon. There's a field just beside the creek where some of the kits have been playing." Neji blatantly ignored Sasuke's suspicion and moved on to the next topic. "They've been getting bold, as of late, which works to our advantage. They're out in the open more often and during daylight. Should make it easier to spot them." Naruto leaned across the table and snagged a slice of Neji's orange.

"How fortunate." Sasuke grumbled under his breath. "We just had to get up at five." Naruto grinned widely.

"Never took you for a loafer, Sasuke." Naruto teased. "Did you get up early to get yourself prettied up? Your hair looks absolutely _lovely_." Naruto purred and reached over to tweak one of Sasuke's spikes. The young Uchiha slapped his hand away with a dark glare.

"And I never took you for a morning person." Sasuke returned, pushing his hair back from his face. Neji, forgotten during their slight banter, laughed softly and both men turned to stare at him curiously.

"You will find that Naruto is full of surprises." He informed Sasuke with a smirk. "Now finish up, you two need to get going if you plan on making it to the field in time to get any work done."

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Author's notes

I've decided I'm going to start lying to my coworkers. No, don't give me that look! It's totally reasonable. See, ever since I've started this new job I've discovered that there are gossipers amongst us. Yes, I know, shocking.

Every morning I get to work and I hear my fellow employees chatting about so-and-so and so-and-so. Well, being that I'm new, I do not KNOW so-and-so and so-and-so and even if I DID, I wouldn't care if so-and-so#1 just broke up with so-and-so#2 unless so-and-so#1 broke up with her for me, or unless one of them owes me money.

But as I'm new, I do not know either of them so I doubt so-and-so#1 would ruin a perfectly good relationship over a mystery woman and it is also rather unlikely I gave either of them any money, as I usually require at least their real first name, if not a chunk of their soul, in exchange for loans.

So tomorrow when I go into work I'm going to walk up to one of my coworkers, look her straight in the eye, and say.

"Can you believe Claire did that last night?"

I'm going to watch for a few minutes to see that expression- you know the one. The one where they are trying to decide if they should know that person and if so, from where. After she decides for the sake of gossip she _will _know Claire-the-nonexistent, we'll discuss her (non)antics from the night before and I will make sure to add the maximum amount of intrigue and juiciness to the story. But just before the best part I will flounce off (yes, tomorrow I will flounce) to do some urgent business I conveniently wasn't concerned with a few minutes before and leave her wanting more.

Then I will watch (secretly, of course, as I'm supposedly taking care of urgent business) as my coworker slyly makes her way over to one of our other coworkers and they begin whispering.

And here is where I get smug satisfaction, because I know exactly what they're talking about.

Who the hell is Claire and why haven't we been hanging out with her all along? She sounds entertaining.

I will get to enjoy knowing that my coworkers will be bothered by this for quite some time, if not all day, and perhaps they might even learn a valuable lesson about gossip or something, but that's not really important because morals are cuter on TV and pale in comparison to my personal sense of self-satisfaction.

I'm telling you this because on the off chance that any of you (by some streak of serendipity) are one of my gossipy coworkers (shame on you!) you will be forewarned to disregard anything said about mystery-Claire.

Heheheheh. I love Wednesday….

Sincerely,

AthenaAlpha


	16. Chapter 16

Prologue

Chapter 15

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Naruto combed his hair from his face with his fingers and carefully tucked his camera case under his arm as they pushed through brush and low tree limbs. He and Sasuke had headed out at six and were making good time. Naruto would have plenty of time to survey the area and hopefully get a few good preliminary shots.

"Isn't there supposed to be a trail or something?" Sasuke commented when a branch Naruto had pushed away snapped back and he was forced to do an abrupt evasive maneuver to avoid being decked. Naruto turned his head to reassure Sasuke when his toe caught a chunk of raised dirt and he stumbled, barely catching himself. Naruto laughed nervously and brushed a few leaves from his hair.

"Most people use the path that shoots right across the valley, so this one gets a bit overgrown." He readjusted his camera tenderly and waited for Sasuke to catch up. He looked less than convinced by Naruto's reassurance and Naruto noted silently that Sasuke must have hit damp earth somewhere along the line because there was dried mud caked to the bottom of his pantlegs.

"We should have just planned on camping out. Hiking this again tomorrow is a waste of time." Sasuke grumbled as they began to push forward again, Sasuke following closer to Naruto in order to limit the amount of tree-dodging necessary. The sun was getting higher and the hike was making the blond sweat and Sasuke noted that the soft hairs on the back of his head were damp and gold against his neck.

And, of course, he hated that he noticed.

His own hair was hanging looser than usual around his face and against his forehead. He occasionally had to knock chunks of black out of his eyes. When the path widened and they were walking beside each other, Sasuke thought he saw Naruto watching him out of the corner of his eye and wondered if maybe Naruto wanted to push the hair aside for him.

Sasuke didn't make a sound when a broken branch scratched his arm because he decided he deserved it.

"According to the scan Hinata gave me, we're entering the hunting territory of the mother fox." Naruto murmured, his blue eyes scanning the forest ahead impatiently. "I bet she's beautiful."

_Like you?_

Sasuke felt hot and pulled his shirt down on his neck to let in the cooler air. He was somewhat excited about seeing Naruto at work. Something about the way Naruto's fingers would absentmindedly reach down and stroke the top of his camera told Sasuke that Naruto was good at what he did. And that he loved doing it.

"Did you always want to be a photographer?" The question slipped from Sasuke accidentally and he cringed a little afterwards. Naruto was clearly surprised because his head whipped around and he stumbled a little.

"Uh, yeah, I guess." Naruto recovered his footing and took a couple rushed steps to get back in line with Sasuke. He was smiling and his eyes were warm and open. Sasuke wondered if Naruto would answer any questions he had.

_How do you stay in such good shape on a diet of ramen?  
When did you first realize you didn't get hot and bothered by women?_

_ Do you dream of my brother often?_

"Why?" Sasuke thought he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned the leaves weren't even trembling. It was probably a shadow. Or his mind trying to distract him.

"I want people to know how much beauty there is in the world." The answer came so easily and so earnestly that Sasuke didn't quite register it right away. He spent several minutes just waiting for Naruto's voice to sink in.

"Ah." That was all Sasuke could manage before he fell into a broody silence. Naruto seemed to respect that and they made their way toward the creek in silence.

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Naruto sighed and dropped himself onto the ground heavily. Standing over him Sasuke took off his backpack and sat it on the ground. They had reached the creek just before midday and Naruto was unable to hold off his hunger any longer. Besides, Sasuke seemed to be in a strange mood and Naruto hoped that some relaxation would loosen him up.

Sasuke really was an entirely different kind of Uchiha.

And just like that Naruto was thinking about _him _again which actually wasn't so bad because it made him realize just how long it had been since he had thought of _him_. Naruto smiled a little to himself as he shrugged off his own pack to dig out the food Hinata had prepared for them the night before. A week ago he had thought he wouldn't be able to go a single moment without the aching feeling of loss and the knowledge of betrayal. Sasuke was kneeling over his pack and pulling out containers and Naruto laid a small tarp out over the ground.

"After we eat we can scope out the area of the river and see if we can find any signs of the kits." Naruto began to pop the lids off the containers while Sasuke handed him a small bowl. "We should head downstream, I think. Into the deeper woods." Sasuke was nodding listlessly and Naruto felt himself smirk a little. "Then we'll offer you up as a human sacrifice to the god of ramen."

Sasuke nodded and began to serve up the noodles.

The spoon slipped from his fingers and dark eyes lifted to stare at Naruto in disbelief. Almost immediately the blond burst out laughing and nearly dropped his own food, which would have pretty much ruined the joke for him. Sasuke's expression flattened and he rolled his eyes.

"Don't give me that look. You were the one not paying attention." Naruto pointed out. Sasuke just shook his head and…

And he smiled. It was a small one, the edges of his mouth lifting up gently. Naruto felt warm and his own smile grew to the point where it hurt. Sasuke's smile was beautiful. Could he make him smile again?

And bigger? Maybe next time his teeth would show, just a little.

"Ramen god? Only you would think of that, dobe." Sasuke mumbled under his breath, shifting away from the sun so that his pale skin was shadowed slightly. Naruto couldn't quite smother his amusement and settled for simply not watching Sasuke squirm. If he had chosen to watch Sasuke squirm, he might have seen him shiver slightly at the sound of Naruto's husky laugh.

But he _did _miss it so Sasuke wasn't forced to impale himself with his chopsticks.

They shared lunch, small talk, and occasional banter. It may have been that the morning hike had worn him out or that the food was so good it knocked the jackass out of him, but Sasuke was actually _pleasant. _Naruto found himself enjoying the soft snickers Sasuke substituted for real laughter and the softening around the edges of his eyes that made Naruto's body thrum with satisfaction.

"So what exactly is wrong with her?" The question was so violently different from the stream of previous conversation that Naruto's mouth fell open mid bite and he nearly dropped his bowl. _Again_.

"Uh….what?" Ah, a brilliant reply. One truly worthy of the great Uzumaki.

"Hinata. She couldn't come because of an illness, right? What exactly is the matter with her?" Sasuke had finished eating and was now leaning back on his palms. His hair was definitely suffering from the heat because he had to shove wilting pieces of ebony out of his face continuously.

"You know, most people would ask that question with a little more…finesse." Naruto pointed out dully. He sat down his now empty bowl and crossed his fingers in his lap. Sasuke relaxed his legs, spreading them slightly around Naruto's crossed legs. They didn't touch.

"I figured you'd like the blunt approach better." Sasuke offered dryly. "It's idiot proof." Naruto gave him a dirty look and flicked his leg. Sasuke smiled again. A content smile.

_Maybe I was being to pessimistic about this. We _can_ be friends._

"She was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago." Naruto murmured. "She's getting treatment and usually she doesn't have much trouble but sometimes…." Naruto's voice faltered as the seriousness of the issue finally caught up with him. "Sometimes she just…can't." There was a slight brush against his outer thigh and Naruto realized that one of Sasuke's legs had shifted and the toe of his shoe was brushing his pantleg slightly.

It felt odd to be reassured by someone five years his junior.

It felt nice to be reassured at all.

"She's taken it very well." Naruto lined up the tips of his fingers, staring at his hands absently. "She's very….she's very strong. I think Neji and I took it much harder than she did. Neji, especially. He and Hinata never got along well when they were young and I think Neji believes it's his fault she's sick. He hardly ever leaves her side anymore." If Sasuke had any objections to listening to Naruto bare his soul he wasn't voicing them. He was watching Naruto with those intense eyes, waiting patiently for Naruto to continue.

"He told me….He told me once that when he was a child, he had wished she would suffer. He wanted her to hurt like he had hurt. Neji had a lonely childhood." Naruto found the occasional gentle brush of Sasuke's foot against his leg slightly hypnotizing. He was moving his foot like a metronome, away and then back, in a regular motion. "He thought the cancer was fate's way of getting back at him. He had just reconciled with her when she got sick."

Naruto caught Sasuke's ankle and purposefully locked his gaze with Sasuke's. The movement of his foot stopped.

"Why do you ask?" Naruto knew his smile had grown bitter by now. Sasuke was smirking.

"That sounded an awful lot like self pity, there, dobe."

"Me or Neji?"

"Both. Hinata would never tell the story like that." Sasuke pulled his legs back, away from Naruto. The blond's fingers hovered for a moment over the spot where his ankle had been.

"You're right." Naruto laughed softly. "She wouldn't." The sun was getting hot on his back and it was about time they packed up and moved on.

"Well I've had enough of this mood killer. Come on we have work to do."

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It was a relief to be back under the cover of the trees. The day was getting hot and the shade felt nice against his skin. The comfortable atmosphere of lunch had carried over and Naruto was beginning to think today was going to be a very good day. Now if only he could find some sign that the foxes had their den nearby.

"Be careful. Try not to make too much noise or we'll scare them off." Naruto warned as he ducked under a branch. Sasuke snorted.

"Yeah because _I'm _the one who keeps smashing through the brush." Naruto ignored him and carefully moved a branch away before slowly moving it back to avoid the unnecessary noise.

"The map Hinata got from the park officials shows this area as having the most sightings." Naruto murmured. "There are feeding areas they set up specifically for the kits around here, since their old enough to eat meat now. They show one up a little further."

"Will they eat meat set out for them?" Sasuke asked doubtfully.

"The rangers have been exposing them to human contact. They want the kits to feel more comfortable around humans in case they need to be moved for breeding purposes." Naruto murmured, his eyes trailing through the shadows intently.

"There." Sasuke moved beside him, pointing past Naruto's ear towards a small cove made by a hollowed tree trunk. There was a small orange marker tacked a few feet above.

"They're not here." Naruto murmured, clearly disappointed. He started to move forward when suddenly Sasuke's hands shot out and gripped his arms from behind and Naruto froze.

"No. Look!" Sasuke hissed pointing over Naruto's shoulder. Naruto's eyes narrowed and he stared passed the tree intently, following Sasuke's finger.

A tiny copper head peaked out and big black eyes blinked around curiously. Naruto thought his heart was going to stop beating in his chest.

_So Adorable!_

A second head appeared and Naruto couldn't suppress a smile when they tackled each other and went rolling into the open. They were tugging at eachother's ears playfully when Sasuke jabbed him hard in the side.

"Camera, you dobe."

_Oh. Right. _

Naruto scrambled to undo the clasps of his camera case, his eyes never leaving the two tiny animals busy chasing each other in circles. The familiar warmth and feeling of rightness flowed from his fingertips to his toes. He really loved what he did.

Uncapping the lens to his camera he made the adjustments he needed almost subconsciously. Sasuke watched his fingers move, gracefully and purposefully. He bent his knees slightly, the clicks of the camera almost silent as he captured clip after clip of the tiny bundles of red fur. Naruto's eyes were alert and focused, intensely blue and deeply excited. Sasuke took a deep, harsh breath and was filled with the sudden need to put space between them. Leaning back on his heel, a loud snap filled the air and Sasuke froze. Naruto broke out of his daze and turned to stare at Sasuke in shock.

Two furry heads snapped up and stared.

For a moment nothing happened and Sasuke entertained the idea that time had stopped and he hadn't just potentially ruined Naruto's photo shoot. Naruto's head whipped around again and everything began to move forward at a frantic pace. The kits went running and Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm. In an instant Sasuke was jerked forward and into a wild gallop.

"If we follow them we might be able to find the den. Come on!" Naruto was jumping and ducking with Sasuke close behind. The kits were there, just within their eyesight. They had veered off the path and the ground was becoming uneven and damp. They were nearing the water, Sasuke thought he could hear it….

"We can't lose them. Sasuke, duck." His dark head dipped and Sasuke easily avoided the low hanging branch that had nearly sent Naruto sprawling. Sasuke's eyes traced the area in front of them, noting the darkness of the earth and the way the light seemed to be growing stronger.

Yes, they were approaching the water.

Naruto was too focused, too intent. He wasn't seeing it. Sasuke watched the ground drop in front of them and shouted out a warning that Naruto must have missed because his body dropped, sliding down the slightly sandy earth as his legs gave out under the lack of support. Sasuke watched the camera rise, arcing over Naruto who landed in the water with a splash. Sasuke leapt, his fingertips just outside the edge of the camera. Reaching, reaching, he clasped it into his hands and hugged it to his chest. The ground closing in on him.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and swore under his breath when he landed hard on his knees in the slender tributary that had cut off their path. The stones cut through his pants and into the skin of his knees, causing the flow of cold water to sting. He fell back into the water, soaking himself up to his waist but keeping the camera carefully above the water. Naruto was on his feet, running over to Sasuke, his whole body dripping. His hair was in wild damp spikes around his face and there mud smeared across his side. He fell down onto his knees in front of Sasuke, touching the side of his leg gently and taking in the slight smear of blood coming from the scratches on his knees.

"Shit! Sasuke, I'm so sorry. You're knees." Naruto's thumbs gently brushed away the edges of ripped cloth to get a better look. His blue eyes were soft and apologetic and he looked up into Sasuke's eyes with such genuine concern. "I'm such an idiot. Are you all right?" Sasuke gently lower his hand to show Naruto the camera he had still been holding slightly over his head. Naruto stared at it silently for several minutes before smiling widely and pulled Sasuke into a rough hug.

"Teme. You are amazing." He leaned back, both his hands resting on Sasuke's shoulders. And, really, Sasuke couldn't feel too bad about the way his heart was racing because no one had ever looked at him with such honest admiration before. And, really, when Naruto's eyes were so open and his lips were so close, could he really be blamed?

Sasuke grabbed the front of Naruto's doused shirt and pulled himself up into Naruto's mouth without any other thought than.

_He's so beautiful. _

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Deidara owed the manufacturing company TAKI that provided parts for technology companies. It also moonlighted as an under-the-table supplier for government projects and 'independent businesses'.

Which was another way of saying they made weapons.

Originally Deidara had been a liaison for a company that was on the books as an independent technology provider that occasionally invested in new products developed by TAKI. In reality it was a group of computer hackers that specialized in being the most advanced in computer crimes. Of course, private investing quickly became major shareholding and Deidara was placed on the board to protect his own company's interest.

A year later the company folded when an _Unknown Source_ gave the government the information they needed to arrest its CEO and all major officials. No one seemed to question that Deidara remained completely untouched by the investigation and was later appointed President of the TAKI's internal affairs. Within two years he was running the entire company and was a major investor in the well respected powerhouse Uchiha Industries, which was experiencing its most profitable fiscal year in a decade.

According to company documents, they pulled out on several external investments a year before the Uchiha Scandal due to the unexpected failure of one of their new products that caused a loss in profits. It's shares in Uchiha Industries were the first to go. Deidara wanted to protect his stockholder's investment, which was more than understandable.

The new product had been over-invested for how little interest was expressed in early production.

No one questioned it.

No one ever questioned Deidara.

And Sai was looking forward to being the first.

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Author's notes

I finished this chapter a week or so ago and disliked it greatly. So, following the example set by fellow fanfic author Ladelle who is rewriting an _entire story, _I redid it. Can you believe that dedication? She's redoing an entire story! I'm so impressed. Someday I hope I'm that dedicated to my work.

This chapter is a lot….uh…fluffier (?) than my others. I'm trying something with the characters. I'm excited to keep moving on now, though, because the way I'm going to develop Sasuke's character from now on is going to be a tad tricky due and I'll need to be careful about the way I balance him out. Should be interesting.

Anyway, school is starting up again soon (I can't wait!) and I'll have more internet access which will hopefully mean faster updates. Also, I'm working on a couple other things that I hope to get out during this school year. Not all Naruto, but all yaoi. I'm hooked, what can I say?

Thanks to all of you who have hung in there and waited for this update so patiently! I love you guys!

Also, I got my (semi)new vehicle today! Now I can survive winter without worrying about my brakes giving out! Oh, the joy of joys. Now I just need to recover from the staggering financial blow I took to get it…

Owie….

Joy and love, darlings!

AthenaAlpha


	17. Chapter 17

Prologue

Chapter 16

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His mouth was warm, like everything about him, and a strange mix of soft and rough that didn't quite make sense but felt _amazing_. The water swirling around them was causing goose bumps to rise up on his skin and he pressed himself closer to Naruto to feel his heat. The arm holding Naruto's camera above his head was beginning to wear out and the fingers gripping Naruto were going numb.

But Naruto wasn't pulling away.

Of course, he wasn't responding either and Sasuke found this more annoying than he had thought he would. He wanted Naruto to kiss him back. He wanted Naruto to moan and sigh and _react_. Something powerful was building up in Sasuke's chest and it was so new and unexpected that he pulled back and stared.

Naruto's lips were parted as he gasped for air and his blue eyes were wide. His hair was an uncontrolled mess and he was _stunning_.

The burning was unfamiliar and the desire he felt was staggering. When Naruto's lips finally closed, gently and unsure as if he was debating on how much air he needed, Sasuke knew he was going to kiss Naruto again. He didn't need anything beside his own conviction- that he would kiss Naruto again. He would taste him again. He would _touch _him.

Sasuke's body shivered and he almost leaned forward to kiss Naruto again right then and there when the blond scrambled to his feet and turned away, putting his back to Sasuke.

It wasn't until Naruto's blue, _blue _eyes were out of his sight that reality sank in and Sasuke was left feeling slightly strangled and very much aware of himself. His fingers twitched awkwardly at his sides.

He pulled himself up, his pants dripping and mucky, and tucked Naruto's camera into his chest, cradling it protectively. His eyes followed the blond's movements steadily. Naruto's shirt clung to his skin, outlining the muscles of his back and hips. Sasuke ran his tongue across his lips and his dark eyes narrowed to examine the way the cloth gathered and spread. Naruto wasn't moving, probably wasn't even breathing. He just seemed to fall still under Sasuke's gaze.

Sasuke began to bend and clench his numb fingers experimentally, pulling them into his palm one by one. The sun broke through the trees enough that it warmed patches of his damp skin in an uneven way that left him shivering and uncomfortable.

"We should try and dry off." Sasuke moved across the water toward Naruto and grabbed the slick skin above his elbow firmly. He shook the blond roughly, fascinated at how comfortable it felt to touch. He drew his thumb in gentle circles on Naruto's skin for a few seconds before pulling away and heading for the water's edge. He could hear Naruto's movements in the water behind him and nodded in approval. Once they were both standing on the gravelly sand at the edge of the creek, Sasuke turned and purposefully caught Naruto's eye. His expression was fiercely aware and Sasuke heard Naruto's breathing falter and catch.

Sasuke wasn't denying anything. As if to prove this point further, the younger male moved into Naruto's space so that their chests were close and his lips hovered just slightly below Naruto's.

And then he smirked.

Naruto's cheeks flushed and he tilted his head, tilting his chin at an angle to avoid the closeness. Sasuke could only roll his eyes and lean back on the heels of his feet, reluctantly giving him space.

"Let's go find our packs before the animals do. I don't particularly enjoy starving." Sasuke brushed off what he could of the dirt on his pants as he spoke. "Although you could stand to miss a few meals, dobe." Naruto, who had been playing absently with the edges of his damp shirt frowned deeply.

"Did you just call me fat?" He demanded in mock (or dumbfounded) outrage. The edge of Sasuke's mouth twitched and the tension filtered slightly out of the air. "Well, for your information, even if that did bother me-which it doesn't, because I'm a _guy-_" Sasuke snickered and Naruto made a face at him. "This is all muscle." He announced firmly and waved his hand over his cloth covered midsection. Sasuke raised his eyebrows and gave Naruto a rather unconvinced look.

"It is!" Naruto was whining now and Sasuke felt it again, that building pressure in the pit of his stomach. He moved forward again, this time tilting his chest so that he was looking up into Naruto's eyes at an angle.

"I'll believe it when I see it." He informed him calmly, pulling a leaf off of Naruto's shoulder. He gave the blond enough time to process his words and look wide-eyed before he turned around and began to climb up the slight dip in the ground so he could find the path again.

"Pervert." Naruto muttered under his breath. Sasuke smirked a little to himself and looked up through wet bangs into the dim sunlight let in through the trees. The trip back to the cabin was going to be uncomfortable and long and things were sure to become tense again once Naruto had time to fully consider what had happened between them.

But Sasuke still felt surprisingly good about the whole thing.

…There really had to be something wrong with the Uchiha clan….

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Life was immensely unfair.

Normally having an attractive, intelligent, and (on occasion) charming male kiss you unexpectedly was rather…nice. A deal breaker on a rather unpleasant day. Or an unpleasant month. Hell, Naruto had had bad years that could be fixed by a kiss depending on its quality. It could have been one of those kisses. It came so very close. There was just that one, tiny catch.

It was from his boyfriend's little brother.

Err, ex-boyfriend's little brother.

Life was immensely unfair.

And with that thought in mind Naruto untangled his wet sleeve from a nearby branch so he could continue on his merry way to the house where two of his closest friends would be waiting to ask how it went. Ah, yes, he could just tell that that was going to be a fun conversation. Was it actually physically possible to choke on awkward? Because Naruto could swear his extremities were turning a little blue.

"Would you hurry it up, dobe? I'm not exactly fond of hearing a squishing noise every time I move." Sasuke grumbled as he shoved strands of defiant black hair away from his eyes. It didn't take long for the chaffing, stiff legged, discomfort of wet clothes to ruin any remnant of _pleasant _and Naruto had a feeling that if he could, Sasuke would crawl out of his own skin at this point.

Actually, he was probably just projecting.

"It's not like I'm trying to get caught on every damn branch we pass." Naruto winced when his shirt ripped a little as he freed it. He had actually liked this shirt. "But this path is fricking impossible."

"As I recall when I asked about that earlier you seemed to think this path was preferable." Once Sasuke saw Naruto was free he immediately turned around and began pushing his way through again, leaving the catching up to Naruto who scowled and jogged a little to get back into stride with the younger male.

"I never said it was preferable, I just said it was practical." The path wasn't wide enough for them to walk side-by-side so Naruto settled for standing right over Sasuke's shoulder and leaning forward as he walked so he could complain over the younger man's shoulder. Sasuke glared at him when a low branch dragged across the side of his head, yanking at his hair lightly.

"Yeah, I can tell." Sasuke's teeth were obviously gritted. "Real Practical." How else could he talk like that? All gravely and…thick. Naruto's eyes narrowed and he returned Sasuke's dirty look without hesitation.

"Would you have rather walked the extra four miles we would have had if we had taken the other path?" Naruto demanded, practically yelling directly into Sasuke's ear. The dark haired male came to an abrupt stop, twisting his body enough so that Naruto, who hadn't known he was going to stop, slammed into him. The both stumbled backwards, Sasuke's hands reaching up and gripping Naruto's arms to stabilize himself. Naruto's whole body went deadly still and blazing hot in an instant. Sasuke's fingers dug into muscle.

"I _would have rather_ not have been dunked in a river of freezing cold muck." Sasuke snapped as he released Naruto's arms. He didn't, however, remove the pressure of his body as he stared directly up into Naruto's face. "But I suppose everything has its advantages." And then Sasuke was smirking again and Naruto was blushing and the words _not fair _rang in a high-pitched whine through Naruto's skull.

And just like that the moment was over and Sasuke was once again pushing his way past overgrown bushes and weeds. Naruto released a long, strangled breath and admitted to himself that the problem was more serious than he had thought, because he should _not _have shivered and leaned forward when Sasuke spoke.

And he definitely shouldn't have been disappointed when he pulled away.

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They arrived back early evening, semi-dry at this point but stiff due to the hardened mud clinging to their clothes and irritated beyond speaking. Neither one could even find it in them to argue by the time they got back. They just glared silently straight ahead and marched forward. Naruto would later dramatize the whole event by comparing them to wayward soldiers, desperately seeking home in the unforgiving wilderness.

He would also throw in a couple random ninjas and a completely unrealistic car chase. Naruto had always been fond of story telling.

But for now, he saw not humor in the situation at all and was less than pleased when, upon entering the Hyuuga cabin, Hinata burst into hysterical giggles. Sasuke seemed content to ignore her, however the look he shot Neji when the taller male snickered at Sasuke's deflated hair promised extreme pain.

"Oh dear." Hinata tried to stifle her laughter as she spoke, placing a small hand over her mouth to hide her smile. "Oh dear, you two look simply…." She trailed off, biting her lip, trembling shoulders the only thing that gave away the fact that she was still amused at their expense.

"Dreadful." Neji concluded for her, eyeing the slight trail of mud flecks Naruto had left behind with distaste. Sasuke snarled silently and without hesitation yanked his shirt off over his head and tossed it to Neji. The Hyuuga, out of instinct, caught it and immediately made the most ridiculous face. Naruto laughed for the first time in hours.

"I'm going to shower." Sasuke informed them as he began to make his way through the main room and toward the back. Neji, carrying his shirt at an arm's length away, grumbled something about burning it and headed for the kitchen. Hinata looked vaguely alarmed and immediately followed.

"Yeah, whatev-Wait, What? No way! How come you get the shower?" Naruto whined, turning his attention from the two very odd Hyuugas so he could scramble after Sasuke who was halfway to the bathroom. "I'm dirty too!" If Sasuke had been a lesser man he would have taken that as a perfect opportunity to completely and utterly embarrass the idiot.

"I suppose, if you're really _that _dirty, we could shower together." Sasuke turned and leaned into Naruto unexpectedly, smirking.

Okay, so Sasuke was a lesser man. He was still more of a man than Naruto.

After all, he wasn't the once who turned ten shades of red and practically threw himself over the couch to get away. Sasuke snickered. Had Naruto's eyes trailed down for a second just then?

"Have fun dobe. And don't get any dirt on the furniture, It would probably throw Neji into some kind of shock induced coma." The last thing he heard before closing the bathroom door behind him was Naruto yelling obscenities.

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Sai had never been very fond of limits. After his brother died, he had a view on morality a bit differently than most. He had one rule, which he followed diligently, and all others set by society were, at best, loosely followed suggestions. Like, for instance, not degrading yourself by involving yourself sexually with someone just to get information.

A loosely followed suggestion.

Especially since Sai had always viewed the sexual interaction as being one of the few perks of his work (both types of his work, actually, but for entirely different reasons). That, and all the physical violence. That was usually worth it too.

With that thought in mind, he rather cleverly trailed his lips along Tobi's smooth throat. He moaned appreciatively and Sai had a moment of slight discomfort when he felt fingers yank his hair a little rougher than necessary. His smile remained neutral and carefully in place as he lifted up his dark eyes to meet the other man's gaze. The dim lighting was a preferred choice for Sai- the other's face was obscured enough for him not to feel agitated. The lighting inside the main area of the club had been much too bright and Sai had had to endure the sight of the man's eyes glittering in the neon flashes of pink, green, and orange until he had managed to convince the man that something more secluded was necessary for any dance they planned on doing. The man had very dull eyes.

….and was a rather poor dancer…

"We should do this again." Tobi request, digging his nails into Sai's shoulder. Sai's smile widened a little around the edges, but it was hard to catch and he doubted the other man had noticed.

"Perhaps you're too busy." Sai drawled as his kneaded his fingers into his hips and thighs, watching the way his chest jerked as his breathing picked up. "Perhaps I'm too busy."

"Make time." Sai's eyes crinkled into silent laughter and he bent down to carefully run his tongue along the other man's collarbone. Tobi shuddered and his head fell back.

"You forget we just met." Sai purred, sounding utterly guileless and completely innocent (if he did say so himself). "I know nothing about you." Sai lowered his eyelashes as he began to slowly make his way down Tobi's chest. Sai hadn't expected him to be quite this eager. Perhaps the rumors about the young assistant and his master were false? Or perhaps Deidara's attentions had been focused elsewhere as of late.

"You didn't seem to mind that before…" Sai rolled his eyes to himself and swirled his tongue around the man's left nipple impatiently. He groaned and arched his back in the exact way Sai had known he would, and abruptly stopped thinking straight.

Sai had known he'd do that to.

"Next time, how about we pick someplace a little more…private?" Sai suggested, lifting himself up off the other man's shaking body to breath hot air into his ear as he spoke. His hands continued the path his lips had started and after a few seconds Tobi's eyes rolled back in his head and Sai's thin smile returned.

"Yyyess…."

And then Tobi came.

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Author's notes:

SHE LIVES!!

That is all I'm going to say in regards to how long it took me to get this chapter up.

I feel like I have a strong bias against SasuNaru vampire fics. I know there are some good ones out there, I know it, but I never take the time to find them. I always just say "oh, I'll check that out later" and later never comes. So if you guys know of any particularly good SasuNaru (or any other Naruto yaoi coupling. I'll take those too…) vampire fics, please recommend! I'm always looking for a good SasuNaru! (aren't we all?)

Also, just so you all know, I am a Heroes fan! :3 I love Peter. He's my lover. I shall marry him and have his babies. Don't bother telling me he's a fictional character. I'll just laugh hysterically and start talking to myself about devouring souls and caverns of lies and other such nonsense. My roommates find this to be of the gravest concern but I think they're being overly sensitive.

The only problem I have with Heroes is that I can't watch it on TV due to my completely ridiculous schedule, so I have to wait until the seasons come out on DVD and rent them. Takes forever. I'm always a season behind, so I can't have any kind of real conversation with heroes fans…It's unfortunate….

Is that it? I feel like I had something else to say…Hmm….Nope, I got nothing…Damn, I was so sure there was something…

??

Oh well, for next time I guess.

Thanks for waiting you amazing peoples!

AthenaAlpha


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 17

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Sasuke breathed in the steam in soft, light pants and pressed his back against the tile. His arms hung at his sides, the water forming lines in the thin layer of grime along the contours of his muscles. He felt thick and heavy and the water was an immense relief even if it made the scrapes on his elbows and knees sting. Naruto had enjoyed that kiss.

Sasuke smirked and rubbed the heel of his palm against his tired eyes. It had been brief, but he was almost positive. He wasn't sure exactly what it was that made him so sure, but the second he had closed the bathroom door behind him and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror he was sure.

And not because he looked to hot to resist, either.

The reason for Hinata's obvious amusement was quite clear. His hair, so matted down and wet, had caused his spikes to droop and form a strange curtain around his head, like a palm tree. Plus, there had been random streaks of dirt smudged across his cheeks from touching his face with his then filthy hands. He had looked absolutely ridiculous.

And yet, when he had offered Naruto the opportunity to shower with him, Naruto had checked him out. A bit awkwardly and involuntarily, perhaps, but the tiny motion of his eyes slipping down, over Sasuke's body, had been visible. Sasuke ran his tongue along his lips and tasted the water flowing down his body. A dark, vicious little piece of his mind hissed that Sasuke looked a hell of a lot like _him_.

Sasuke's teeth ground so hard together that his jaw ached.

He was not going to go there. This day had been frustrating enough without thinking _that_. As if to emphasize this point, Sasuke began to roughly yank his fingers through his hair, combing out the snarls in the thick, black mess. His skull tingled from the stimulation and occasionally Sasuke would find himself glaring at the wall over a particularly stubborn chunk of tangle. Were there _leaves _in his hair?

Feeling utterly repulsed (which was not a very masculine feeling) Sasuke began to scrub his scalp furiously to remove any lingering hint of wildlife. He was beginning to suspect that this whole trip had been some elaborate scheme to humiliate him.

_Well, gee, that wasn't at all over dramatic. _

Sasuke felt the slight sting of soap in his eyes and coughed out a little of the coppery tasting water. He couldn't help but feel like a confrontation was coming and not one of those screaming, name-calling, _comfortable _confrontations either; One of those Naruto's-voice-gets-all-soft-and-his-eyes-are-light-blue confrontations. Sasuke's throat tightened just thinking about it.

Because he was almost positive that if Naruto said he wanted to care for him one more time, Sasuke would jump him. Or punch him. Or both, but not necessarily in that order.

Sasuke shivered as the water began to cool against his back. It was time to get out.

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If Naruto had had any plans to confront Sasuke about "the incident" he would be sorely disappointed. After each enjoyed a shower (Sasuke's long and with warm water aplenty, Naruto's quick because Sasuke had used up most of the hot water) dinner was upon them and they found themselves wedged together around the small table with two extra people than the night before. Sasuke vaguely recognized the two from the first night they had arrived, but since then they had been unseen and unheard. Grimacing when Naruto's elbow jabbed into his side, Sasuke couldn't help but think maybe it wouldn't have been all that bad if they had just stayed absentee. The table had never seemed as small as it did with a half-constructed bridge made of silverware and cups spread across it.

Apparently, girl-with-buns was an architect.

"…So the problem is, that to properly support the weight of the bridge, we would have needed to balance the weight around the middle, here" She pointed with her pinky finger at the area of the makeshift model that consisted of a fork bent over Sasuke's and Naruto's empty teacups. "…but the ground wasn't solid there, anything we built would have sunk. So I suggested building an _underwater_ beam that would extend from the two points on land…" Again she indicated the starting points of her bridge, leaning across the table to thump the side closest to Hinata. The table shook a little and the glasses teetered slightly, but nothing fell. "And using that beam to build up the vertical load-baring beam, see? It was ingenious, if I do say so myself, but the damn contractor fought me the whole way…" Hinata was nodding politely throughout the story but Sasuke could swear he could hear the words _What is she _talking_ about? _Running through the pale girl's head.

Naruto, meanwhile, seemed enthralled with the whole model-idea. Apparently he hadn't gotten enough model-car building in as a child and it was manifesting itself into a love of poorly-designed utensil structures. He hadn't stopped staring open mouthed and in awe throughout girl's story. Sasuke had taken up checking for water spots on the only remaining free piece of cutlery in the entire room. No one had started eating yet, but Sasuke was seriously beginning to think he should just claim rice was a finger food and commence dinner. He really hadn't eaten in a while.

"Well that does sound impressive, Tenten, perhaps you wouldn't mind deconstructing our dishes so we may eat?" The girl blinked up at Neji for a moment, as if she seriously hadn't considered the idea, before turning to stare at her massive design of comingled Japanese and European style utensils. Biting her lip and looking slightly bashful, the girl plucked her silverware from the mess before handing everyone else their chopsticks. Apparently, after spending most of her childhood in England, the French-Chinese farmer's daughter had grown accustomed to the ease of forks and knives. She wasn't particularly partial to what she used when building, however, since she had swiped Sasuke's chopsticks from right in front of his face.

Literally. He had been mid-bite at the time.

"Sorry, Neji-sempai. I got carried away. Naruto-kun seemed so interested." She shot Naruto a sheepish look for confirmation and the blond idiot immediately began to nod enthusiastically.

Of course he agreed. What did Naruto care if neither of them had eaten since noon? The moron.

"Yes, well, you can go back to discussing bridge building in Vietnam later." Neji grumbled, snatching his chopsticks off the table and reaching to serve himself some rice.

"Taiwan!" Tenten chirped. Her correction went unnoticed. Neji didn't care.

The new man, who had been introduced to him by Naruto as _The Ant-o-mologist _(It took Sasuke a little while to realize that Naruto hadn't actually meant to make a pun and had sincerely thought that that was how Entomologist was pronounced. He had enjoyed the way Naruto's face had practically lit up when Sasuke corrected him.)

Naruto looked rather attractive when he blushed.

Sasuke grimaced and tried to ignore the fact that every time Naruto shifted to grab a dish his hip would brush against Sasuke's side. From somewhere to his left he could feel Neji's eyes on him and knew the bastard was laughing at him, even if he was conspicuously silent.

"Naruto." Shino, the (snicker) _ant-o-mologist_, hadn't spoken all night and everyone at the table seemed immediately enthralled when he did. Sasuke groaned mentally in his head, once again forced to pause before eating. "How was the shoot?" The man's voice was soft and calm, but there was a quality about it that made a shiver travel up Sasuke's spine. The word _creepy _sprang to mind. Naruto didn't seem phased.

"It was fine, really great, we…." Shino's head shifted slightly to the side halfway through Naruto's answer and the blond's voice faltered, his smile slipping a bit. Sasuke shot him a curious look out of the corner of his eye and saw that Naruto was biting his bottom lip.

_Cute._

"It…could have gone better." Naruto finished softly, blue eyes directed down at his hands, which were folded over his chopsticks lightly. It occurred to Sasuke that perhaps Shino hadn't really been asking about the shoot. "but…there's always tomorrow." Naruto was smiling again and Shino nodded (Sasuke supposed it was nodding, anyway, his head barely moved, but still…).

"I'm glad." That was all it took for the atmosphere to return to normal and if Sasuke were any less of a man he would have cried out in relief when they finally, _finally _began to eat.

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Five years earlier, Fugaku Uchiha and his wife died in a plane crash while attending to business dealings in northern Germany leaving his eldest son, Uchiha Itachi, as the heir to his empire. Four years and ten months earlier, Uchiha Itachi became the youngest CEO in Japanese history.

Four years and 8 months earlier, eight new investors of various interests took stock in the company. They ranged from moderate to major investors and for the most part their interest in the company was overlooked in favor of an intense interest in what Uchiha Itachi was going to do next. How would the newly initiated nineteen-year-old CEO do in the dangerous world of Japanese business?

Three years and 9 months earlier Uchiha Itachi bought out three of the new investors, Kisame Hoshigaki, Zetsu, and Konan. Around the same time he cut off business negotiations with three overseas branches and caused massive panics for months. No one noticed the buyouts, and if they did, they didn't care.

Three years and one month earlier two of the new investors liquidated their business and went into an impromptu retirement. Both Pain and Uchiha Madara, Itachi's formerly estranged relative, claimed that they no longer had the "taste for business" they once had.

Two years and 8 months earlier an accountant for Uchiha Industries was found dead in his home. Apparently, he had ingested an unhealthy dosage of prescription medication and had a seizure. Uchiha Itachi extended his gravest sentiments to his poor, suffering family. Two long-time investors in the company, Sasori and Deidara began to pull funds from the company due to "reinvestments into development" and "Desires to focus on internal progress".

Two years and 7 months earlier the company run by investors Hidan and Kakuzu merged with a larger corporation owed by Uchiha Madara, who had pulled out of his retirement early to reinvest himself in a manufacturing consultant company. Uchiha Madara thought it would be a conflict of interest to continue investing in Uchiha Corp. and Hidan and Kakuzu portion of the company was sold. Two weeks later Itachi shocked Japan by making it known that he was gay. Madara's abrupt return to the world of business passed with only moderate interest.

Two years and three months earlier Uchiha Itachi became officially involved with a moderately famous photographer whose name was not disclosed to the press, but three days later six photographers were sued for harassment by Uzumaki Naruto.

A year and six months earlier Sasuke was followed on his way home from school by a black corvette with tinted windows. Itachi didn't come home for three days afterwards, cold and distant and wouldn't look Sasuke in the eye.

Nine months earlier the phone calls began. Naruto mentioned them in passing, thinking it was a funny joke someone was playing. He would get up, answer the phone, and the line would just go dead. When he told Itachi, the dark haired male had abruptly left, saying he had business to attend to. Sasuke didn't start receiving the calls until two weeks later, grumbling angrily about his fan girls somehow getting a hold of his phone number just to call and hang up.

Three months earlier Nara Shikamaru was hired by Hatake Kakashi to investigate unusual activity within the Uchiha Corporation's finances.

A month earlier Itachi Uchiha vanished with thirty million dollars of embezzled money.

A day earlier Sai found himself having sex in the 36th floor office of TAKI Corporation's main building. It was quick, mostly due to the sedative Sai had slipped the rather rash Tobi. But that was preferable, since Sai had files to go through and secrets to uncover.

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Since Naruto had helped Hinata cook, Neji and Sasuke had somehow gotten selected for clean up. Which would have been annoying enough without the constant thoughtful glances Neji kept shooting him. _Without even looking at him. _

"What?" Sasuke finally snapped from his position in front of the sink, scrubbing at the rice bowl with more force than was necessary. Neji's back was turned to him as the long haired male washed the table clean, but Sasuke could feel him raise one of those stupid, elegant eyebrows and smirk.

He didn't know where this sudden hypersensitivity was coming from, but he suspected it couldn't entirely be Neji's doing. After all, Sasuke could always seem to tell when Naruto was smiling lately.

"It must be difficult for you." Neji finally commented, dragging Sasuke to whatever kill-me-now realization he was having. That was another thing that had surfaced lately- Sasuke constantly felt like his mind was betraying him with asinine, ridiculous thoughts

(Like how the cup he was holding had been Naruto's, and therefore Naruto's lips had touched it, and did he really need to wash that cup?). Sasuke was grinding his teeth rather hard.

Neji laughed softly, moving beside Sasuke to wash out the rag he'd been using. Sasuke found the sight of Neji laughing even more offensive than sensing it. He scowled.

"It must be difficult." Neji repeated as his slender fingers took over Sasuke's task and the young Uchiha was left staring silently off to the side as Neji cleaned the remaining dishes. "To find yourself attracted to someone like Naruto."

If Sasuke had only been half listening before (which he was) he was paying full attention now.

"_What_?" He snapped, subconsciously moving his arms closer to his body protectively and he turned to press his back against the edge of the counter, savoring the hard, cool surface at his back. He could feel the slight creeping dampness from the occasional splash of water that slid over the side of the sink and trickled onto the back of his shirt.

"Naruto is a very unique kind of person." Neji continued without pause, as if Sasuke hadn't spoken and _wasn't _staring at him as if he were something dangerous and unnatural. "It's not simply that his ability to recover. Although, he does have an amazing habit of recovering from the most upsetting circumstances with an unusual amount of grace for someone so…"

"Primitive?" Sasuke hissed, hurling the word at Neji as if he were attacking the Hyuuga himself. Neji's smiled widened slightly at the corners. Sasuke hated his age. If he were older, no one would smile at him like that, as if he didn't really know how things worked. How _his_ _own _emotions worked.

"…Naïve. It's the change he creates around him. When Hinata met him she was a timid, fearful girl who didn't know how to stand up for herself. A girl like that would have curled up upon herself when she found out about…her sickness." Pale eyes got distant and Neji's all-knowing smile faltered, becoming something more serious and a lot more imposing. "She took immediate control, when she found out. Took the lead of her treatment without any hesitation. Naruto would never understand that he created that. He _could _never understand that he created that. It would destroy what is so very integral about who he is." Sasuke's heart was hammering in his throat and head, and he was finding Neji's words harder and harder to keep track of.

"You are not the first person to change because of Uzumaki Naruto." Neji was staring at him now, directly into Sasuke's stunned, shuttered black eyes. "It's not something you should be afraid of, not someone like you." Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he started to speak, started to choke out some question that had been forming in the back of his mind since that day, in the car, when Naruto told him to call if he needed him.

"_How…._"

"Are you two finished? Shino is going to show us his collection!" A cheery, blond head poked into the kitchen, grinning widely. "He's got this butterfly that is _huge_! Really, like, the size of my hand!" He waved his hand around as if to demonstrate the impressiveness of this. "And an invisible beetle!"

"Transparent." Shino's soft voice corrected from somewhere over Naruto's shoulder. He smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. That. Come on!" He waved the two expressionless males forward with one hand and his head disappeared again into the main area of the house. Neji immediately moved to follow, pausing only slightly at the passage from the kitchen to smirk over his shoulder letting Sasuke know that he knew what he was going to ask and wasn't telling. Sasuke scowled.

_How do I know when I'm changed? _

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Author's notes

I've been feeling really inspired….For every story idea I have EXCEPT this one. Isn't that quite ridiculous?

It's winter again. Has everyone noticed its winter again? (For those of you in eternally-warm-areas, DO NOT MOCK ME!!! I don't want to hear how _warm _you are or how _dry _you are. I waded through three inches of slush today to get to class. Don't make me hate my life more than I already do!

New scares me. It took me forever to figure out where my reviews were. And I don't even want to get into how hard it was for me to figure out how to access my C2….

So, I was on youtube the other day and discovered a super adorable sainaru/sasunaru doujinshi called "youth terrorist" that made me squeal like a fan girl inside. It was delightful. It also led me to several others, but then I accidently watched a sasusaku without realizing it and I was like "MY EYES!!! MY EYES!!!!" I was a serious bummer, too, because it was VERY well drawn and I was just like "why can't you use your powers of drawing doujinshi for good (sasunaru) instead of evil (sasusaku)?

That's me. Redefining good and evil everywhere. Go out, my children, and spread the word!!

AthenaAlpha


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 18

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"He agreed." Pale fingers pushed rounded glasses further up his nose as he spoke, the light reflecting across the lenses and blanking out his eyes.

"Naturally." The disinterest was even clearer over the phone, which didn't allow for any sight of the other man's naturally narrowed and intense features. "He's like an animal- stupidly being led around by the nose. Sniffing around that Hyuuga girl like she's in heat." He made a noise of disapproval in the back of his throat that translated sharply over the phone. "It's a pity we had to use him at all."

"But we'll get _him._" The bespectacled man pointed out. Light eyes narrowing as he seemed to be considering something he hadn't before. "Perhaps we would have been better off using Uzumaki. He is, after all, a possession. That might have been more enticing."

"If things work as planned, we'll be using both." The soft, pleased voice faded and there was a dull humming noise from the silence. The phone was growing warm against his ear.

"Expect them back to the city early. The weather isn't going to be very opportune for photography today."

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By the time they finished loading the car their clothes were completely soaked and clung heavily to their bodies. Naruto's legs were flecked with mud and Sasuke's pale features blurred in the hazy gray rain-fog that surrounded them. Hinata stood in the doorway, dressed in a white and pale blue kimono. She was wringing her hands nervously in front of her as she watched flashes of lightning cross the sky. Once they had closed up Naruto's truck she waved them closer, cautiously keeping her hands under the long awning to stay dry. They joined her, careful to keep a respectful distance to spare her the cold wetness that had Naruto's hands twitching and was causing Sasuke to loose some feeling in his toes.

"Are you sure you need to head out now? These roads can get so mud-logged in the kind of weather. What if you can't even see the roads?" She was anxious and had voiced this concern several times since Naruto had decided to head back to the city. Naruto smiled a reckless, crooked smile at her when she had first brought it up and that had quieted her temporarily. Instead of conceding defeat, however, she had apparently been thinking of ways to strengthen her argument and had since then been following Naruto through each step of packing expressing concerns and making pleas for him to wait out the storm. Naruto, though touched by her concern, had remained unmoved.

"Sasuke has school tomorrow, and the weather is only supposed to get worse. Once it gets dark there won't be any chance of navigating the roads at all." Naruto reminded her softly, squeezing water pointlessly from the fold of his button down shirt. Water dripped from pitifully drooping blond spikes into his eyes every so often and Naruto blinked hard to clear them. "I'm sorry I couldn't get more for the shoot, but I'll develop what I have when I get back to the studio. Hopefully I'll have something usable." Hinata made a face, her nose crinkling up and her mouth tilting cutely to clearly indicate that that was not the point and Naruto knew it. He laughed.

Beside him, Sasuke unconsciously pulled himself tighter to stay warm.

"I don't know why you're so impatient to leave us that you're willing to wander out in this dreadful weather just to get away." She tried to sound scolding but her voice sounded flat and hesitant and she was obviously no good at guilt because she wasn't the least bit convincing. Naruto responded by pulling her into a careful, very loose hug, his wet sleeves hovering about her shoulders and his back arched so his soaked chest was nowhere near her thin body.

"We'll see each other again soon, when I come to drop off the frames. I'll even let you take me out to lunch, since I'm feeling so generous." He pulled back to look her over, his cold hands resting on her shoulders. She was a good foot-and-a-half shorter than he was. "I'll call you once we arrive, safely, at my apartment. And don't let Neji sulk too long. Tell him I said he's acting like a _woman _that should get him going." Hinata pursed her lips and didn't look impressed, which of course made Naruto's grin widen with delight. "Be good, be safe, love you!" Naruto's parting words were nearly swallowed by a rather dramatic roll of thunder and Naruto took that as a sign, grabbed Sasuke by the elbow, and bounded into the downpour towards his car. Hinata yelled something after him that must have been some kind of goodbye because she was waving.

Naruto grinned widely across the car at Sasuke, who was adjusting the towel Hinata had given him to keep the seat dry. The heat was turned on to dry them but it was still slightly chilly from the outside air and Sasuke had his jaw firmly locked shut to keep his teeth from chattering. He responded to Naruto's ridiculous cheerfulness by slamming his door shut, closing his eyes, and resting his forehead against the cold glass of the window. Naruto's soft breathy laugh made his mouth twitch a little at the corner because he was in a good mood. Because, in some way he couldn't fathom, returning to Naruto's apartment felt like returning home.

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They got back to Naruto's apartment just as the worst of the storm began. Naruto didn't even bother to unload all his bags and simply grabbed the necessities before he and Sasuke made a run for it. The cool water stabbed at Sasuke through his clothes and he could feel the prickle of goose bumps rising on his skin. He jogged up the stairs, Naruto literally on his heels, his suitcases bouncing sharply against his leg as he moved. He didn't stop, racing up the stairs with a frantic urgency that always seemed to follow cold, sticky, wet jeans. Naruto's breath behind him was shaky and in pants and Sasuke let himself enjoy the strange burning in his lungs and the new awareness he felt for the scattered bruises he still had from either the beating he had taken or his tumble into the river (and really, had he been this accident-prone before he met Naruto?).

They surged into Naruto's doorway as the blond scrambled for his keys. Sasuke's heart was pounding and Naruto was grinning like an idiot. There was a strange kind of excitement in his eyes and he shot Sasuke a triumphant grin when the lock clicked open and they nearly fell into the door together. Luggage was thrown to the floor and almost immediately Naruto began to yank his shirt over his head.

"Try to steal the shower this time, teme!" He laughed as he tossed shirt over his shoulder into Sasuke's face and practically hurtled over his own furniture toward the bathroom. Sasuke yanked the cloth away from his face and gave chase, falling in a few steps behind him. He knew he'd be too late, but he couldn't seem to stop himself from following. Naruto slammed the bathroom door shut and Sasuke heard the lock click just as his shoulder hit the door with a vibrating thud. Naruto was laughing on the other side and Sasuke could hear the shower running and his heart was still going crazy in his chest. And he was smiling, and he knew Naruto knew he was smiling, and it felt strangely comfortable to hear the faint sound of water mixed with Naruto's playful laugh.

Sasuke had lost the race.

He pressed himself back against the doorway and closed his eyes, listening for each movement Naruto made. The soft but heavy sound of wet clothes being removed. The metallic sound of the shower door opening. The change in the rhythm of the water beating down as Naruto slid under the warm water. Sasuke's smile shifted slightly, becoming lopsided in a kind of half-smirk. His clothes, still cold and wet, were cooling away any heat that he had created and Sasuke knew he'd have to go change soon. But it could wait, just a little bit longer, for this strange feeling of calm elation to pass.

There wasn't much reason to rush now anyway. The race was over, after all.

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They had settled soon after that. Naruto and Sasuke had both showered, Naruto had called Hinata to tell her they were safe and sound, they ate dinner together in a comfortable silence, and then they settled down at the kitchen table with tea. But Naruto could tell Sasuke was building to something. His dark eyes would occasionally shift out of focus and his mouth would thin slightly as he spoke. Naruto continued to talk, softly and patiently, waiting for Sasuke to build up to whatever he had to say.

He tried to brace himself for it, too, because any conversation Sasuke would have to build up to wasn't likely to be anything that could be taken lightly.

"What was my brother like?" The question came suddenly and Naruto choked on his tea, coughing and spluttering. No amount of building up in the world could have made him ready for _that_.

"You knew him." Naruto managed to choke out after he got control of his breathing and shook off the sensation of drowning (for the most part). Sasuke frowned and stared out past the living room at the storm still going on out the window.

"Yes. But I thought, maybe, he would have been…_different _with you."

"Why would you think that?" Naruto waited patiently for the feeling of sickness and mind-spinning confusion that always came with thinking about Itachi to strike. It didn't, and that was a new type of confusing. Naruto sighed.

"It was something Neji said." Sasuke frowned a little when he said Neji's name. Obviously there was still some animosity there. Well, that wasn't surprising. "I thought maybe he was thinking of my brother when he said it." Naruto laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck, watching his own reflection in the quivering surface of his tea.

"Well, you can't really listen to everything Neji says; he's not exactly an unbiased opinion."

"Because he's in love with you?" Naruto's breathing stopped for several seconds and Sasuke was now staring directly at him, his face resting in his hand, his mouth turned down into his palm.

"He, I, We…uh…It's complicated." Naruto wheezed out, his chest still unusually tight. He pressed his hand were his heart was to make sure it was still beating. It was, and far too fast to be healthy.

"That's just what adults say to children to make them go away." Sasuke sounded faintly amused. "I'm not a child, and you barely qualify as an adult." Naruto laughed shakily.

"Neji is my friend. A sadistic, arrogant, know-it-all friend, but a good friend and someone I will always care about." Naruto shifted in his seat. "I've never felt that way about him."

"Would you have, if you hadn't met my brother?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. He's not my type."

"You have a type?"

"Yes. No. I don't know, not really." Naruto sighed and leaned his head back against the backrest of his chair. The ceiling design spun mockingly around his head. "I guess I didn't really say that right. It's more like, I don't feel chemistry with Neji. He's not someone I feel attracted to romantically."

"Just physically?"

"Are you pushing this for any particular reason?" Naruto lifted his head slowly and gave Sasuke a sardonic glare. Sasuke shrugged.

"It puts off what I really want to talk about rather conveniently." He muttered and Naruto gave him a wicked grin.

"And that would be?"

"Tell me about Itachi. Tell me what he was like as your….boyfriend." Sasuke said the last word with such obvious dread and distaste that Naruto considered telling him no. Because obviously some part of Sasuke had no interest in hearing this at all. Some part of Sasuke didn't want to associate Naruto with Itachi, didn't want to think of Naruto as his brother's boyfriend. And some part of Naruto wanted him not to want that.

Ever unselfish, Naruto shoved that part of himself away with ruthless efficiency and steeled himself for the painful conversation that was to come. Naruto would make sure that Sasuke learned whatever it was he was trying to learn and they could finally put this to rest between them. And Naruto was sure, by the end, Sasuke would never think of Naruto the way he did in the stream again.

Naruto didn't even bother trying to understand the raw burning sensation that spread through his chest. That would just be something else he had to suppress later, and he really didn't need anything more right now.

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Kiba sat on top of his dresser, his face pressed against the screen of his window as he carefully directing the smoke from his nearly finished cigarette out so his sister didn't smell it. He could hear her pacing around the living room like she always did when she was on the phone. She very rarely stood still. Occasionally the storm would send a spray of cold water in and Kiba would have to choose between keeping himself dry and sheltering his fizzling smoke. He always chose the cigarette.

It was past midnight and he would need to be up by six to get to school on time. But he was full of a strange, nervous energy that wouldn't fade and was making him restless. Every time lightning would flash across the sky he'd imagine he could see a black car waiting across the street, at the corner, pulling up in front of his house. But then the light would fade and he would search in the shadowy night for any sign that it was really there and it never was.

A particularly harsh wind swept in and Kiba's grip slid. He caught himself from tumbling off the dresser just in time but dropped his cigarette and the tiny red ember vanished, very likely a victim of the small puddles of water that had accumulated around the floor. Kiba sighed and slid silently down. His sister had obnoxiously good hearing.

He climbed into bed in slightly damp clothing and hair and his dog grunted lazily when he nudged him over to make room. Once he had adjusted, Kiba took to staring at the ceiling, which was a rather bland change of pace after staring out the window. His ceiling didn't have any interesting tiles or patterns, it was just chipped white paint and four corners. Kiba took to mouthing instructions silently to himself while dragging his fingers through Akamaru's warm fur.

_"Third Period. Eleven. Before lunch." _Kiba's lips felt sticky and his mouth was dry. The words were familiar and he moved through them rhythmically. _"First floor. Old counseling office, with the emergency fire escape." _

Kiba's fingers caught a tangle in Akamaru's fur and the dog whined in irritation. Kiba gently removed his fingers and pulled the knot apart with two hands. Akamaru huffed his mild dissatisfaction, but went back to sleep nonetheless.

_"Note for Iruka-Sensei, third period. Mailbox number twelve. 'Sasuke won't be able to attend class today due to an appointment with his legal council. He'll be out for the remainder of the day." _Kiba closed his eyes, trying to mimic in his head the voice of a loving parent. It sounded ridiculous and if Kiba wasn't mistaken he was imaging a British accent. How odd. _"Once Sasuke is in place, r-" _Thunder shook the walls and Kiba cursed softly when his window rattled noisily, announcing that Kiba had forgotten to close it. His sister's pacing stopped and Kiba cursed again.

"Kiba, I swear to god if you've been smoking in there again I'm going to wring your neck!"

And well, what do you know, suddenly Kiba was fast asleep.

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Author's notes!

You all will be very happy to know that I have recruited another member. That's right, my sister is officially a full-fledged member of the yaoi fangirls. How do I know she is ready? How can I be sure she had the strength of will to resist all standard, unrealistic hetero relationships (CoughSasuSakuCough)? How can I possibly know that she will have the determination to hunt down proof and interpret hidden meanings in shows where obvious yaoi relationships are hidden to pander to the mainstream public (CoughSoraKairiCough)? And how can I possibly trust her to bear, with pride, the name yaoi fangirl?

I shall tell you how I became aware that she was ready:

I was home for the holidays, and my sister was telling me about her classmates. She mentioned mostly girls names, but a few guys. I asked her if any of them liked her (because she is too young and straight boys can't be trusted around fragile young girls, you know!) and she just got all dreamy looking and says:

"Two of them are really cute. But I hope they don't like me. I'm actually kind of hoping they like each other."

And well, if that isn't a sign that I've corrupted her to our ways completely, I don't know what is….

Hope you all had a great holiday season!

AthenaAlpha


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 19

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Sasuke felt the faint curl of exhaustion dulling his senses but he was careful to keep his eyes steady and his expression alert. He didn't know if Naruto would give him a second chance to ask this question and he couldn't risk losing it over sleep. One day of sleep deprivation wasn't going to hurt him. He was already ahead of his classes anyway.

Besides, Naruto actually looked like he was _thinking _his answer through and that had to mean that whatever he had to say was going to be important. After all, from what Sasuke knew of Naruto he was prone to just letting himself rambling on aimlessly until he said something so stupid you smacked him, or so profound your breath would falter.

_Or was that just Sasuke? _

"When I first met Itachi he was very…direct." Naruto mused, his mouth cocked cutely to the side as he looked away. "Charming. He made it clear he was interested in me right away and….uh, pursued…me." Naruto made a face at how awkwardly romantic the word seemed. He couldn't quite get himself to look at Sasuke yet, so he couldn't see what the young Uchiha's reaction too it was, but the soft scuff from across the table gave him some indication that Sasuke wasn't impressed.

"I didn't even consider it, at first. I was only at the gallery because Neji and Hinata invited me. I think Neji was hoping it would turn into a date." Naruto smirked a little at the irony. "But I ended up getting separated from them and accosted by your brother instead. He introduced himself, told me he liked my tie, and then shoved me into one of the servant entrances. Then he asked me my name and if I would be interested in dinner. I thought he was joking. Or crazy, considering he had me pinned to a wall surrounded by empty serving carts."

Naruto almost expected Sasuke to laugh, as the story was rather funny, but then again it was his brother and Sasuke didn't look even close to laughing. His dark eyes were chilly and waiting for Naruto to continue. He kept his arms crossed over his chest and was leaning back in his chair with a casual air that seemed fake and made Naruto's chest heave.

"I excused myself, told him I was just there for the art, and hunted down Hinata and Neji so I could leave. Next thing I know Itachi is showing up everywhere. My studio, my showcases, my job sites. Considering he was _supposed _to be off running a multi-billion dollar company I don't know how he found the time to stalk _me._"

"Maybe embezzlement isn't very time consuming." Sasuke grumbled. Naruto made a face at him and continued on as if he hadn't spoken.

"He was far too charming, far too attractive, and far too famous. I didn't want anything to do with him. But he was so freaking _stubborn. _And…" The light-hearted nature of Naruto's story was beginning to drift away the closer he got to the part where he started to _love _him. "He knew exactly what to say. To everything. Always an answer, always a solution. There wasn't any _saying no _to Itachi. So eventually…"

"You agreed." Sasuke finished, hurrying him along. "You became his boyfriend."

"Yes." Naruto shoved blond hair away from his eyes and stared across the table at Itachi's little brother. "And I fell in love with him."

"And Itachi?" Sasuke's question confused Naruto. Particularly since he seemed to brush over Naruto's confession of love without any passing interest whatsoever. Maybe Naruto was misunderstanding the situation. But it seemed like, with Sasuke's recent actions, hearing Naruto saying he loved Itachi should have brought on some kind of repulsion. Naruto would settle for a slight gagging noise, perhaps followed by one of those rather demeaning sneers that Sasuke had used so often when he had first come here but rarely ever used now.

"Itachi?"

"Yes. What about him. What was he like?" Naruto continued to stare at Sasuke without comprehension.

"He…I don't understand. He loved me back….I-I think. He said it a few times. I don't know what you're asking." Naruto squirmed as Sasuke's eyes seemed to focus more, intensifying as they watched him. "What?" Naruto snapped irritably. His temper was more tame than usual, but still present, bubbling irritably at Sasuke's examination.

"Did he act different? Did he treat you different?" Sasuke was leaning forward now, across the table, staring directly into Naruto's eyes. "Was _he _different with you?"

"I-I don't know." Naruto frowned, trying to come up with a sufficient answer to such unexpected questions. "He was direct. That stayed the same. He always told me exactly what was going on with us. Or so I thought." Naruto added the last part as a grumble under his breath. "He was considerate, we rarely argued. When we did, he always smoothed it over. Like I said, he always had a solution for everything. But…" And was it his imagination, or was Sasuke holding his breath? That couldn't possibly be a tinge of blue on the outside of his lips, right? "…But I guess that was just the way Itachi was. From the moment I met him. He was always in control." And yes, Sasuke did just exhale. The idiot was trying to suffocate himself.

"The same. From the moment you met him." Sasuke whispered. Dark eyes fell closed and Sasuke's mouth quirked up at the corners in a tiny smile. Naruto just stared at him, stunned to silence. If he didn't know any better, he would say Sasuke sounded _relieved_.

"Y-yes?" Naruto's world view was taking a rather wild loop around and when Sasuke opened his eyes to reveal what could only be described as _affection_ Naruto nearly fainted.

"You didn't change him at all. He wouldn't let you." Naruto just stared. Sasuke's voice was soft and soothing. "Because he never loved you enough. Because he never let himself give you too much."

Naruto knew that should have hurt. That that should have caused that jerking, aching pain that he had become so familiar with since Itachi's disappearance to flare up inside of him and choke his senses. But somehow the simple happiness in Sasuke's voice pinned him to the ground and made him go blissfully numb.

Something very, wonderfully, wrong was going on here.

"Sasuke, whatever you're thinking….we were together. I loved him. We- we slept together-"

"I don't care about that." Sasuke interjected impatiently. "I just needed to know if he and I were the same. But we're not. Because he didn't let you change him." Sasuke stood and moved around the table, coming to kneel down in front of Naruto, looking up at him with stunningly open eyes. Naruto's hands gripped the seat of the chair and his chest was so tight it hurt. "I changed for you." Naruto could probably blame the youth. Sasuke was closed off normally, cold, but he was still young and still had the remnants of teenage-boy volatility. That's why he was talking to Naruto with such earnestness. The stupidity of youth.

But this logic didn't quite reach Naruto's frantic mind and he choked silently on air, cold sweat chilling him all over. Sasuke reached out, burying his fingers into the back of Naruto hair and tugging him downward, bringing their mouths together with surprising harshness. Naruto didn't move, frozen against the roughness and the tingling, burning sensation his breath caused on Naruto's closed lips. When Sasuke pulled away, slowly and without removing his fingers from Naruto's hair, he stayed half-kneeling between Naruto's legs. His eyes were narrow and evaluating, taking in Naruto's response with a stunning amount of patience for someone so young. Which, of course, completely killed Naruto's volatility theory.

It took Naruto's mind a little longer than it should have to catch up with what was going on and when it finally did it seemed impossible for him to develop any kind of understanding, so he settled for simply letting his mind wandering aimlessly from one detail to another. Like how Sasuke was definitely an Uchiha, because the smooth, pale curves of skin and dark, silky hair were dizzyingly familiar. He was definitely Itachi's brother. And yet…There was a rawness in Sasuke Itachi had never possessed. It felt cliché, it felt terribly, sickeningly romantic to think that Sasuke's eyes were different.

That Sasuke had eyes that expressed so much Itachi's never had.

How very _sentimental. _

Naruto was so taken in by his thoughts, he didn't even realize he'd been staring.

"Do I look like him?" Sasuke murmured, his thumb drawing circles on the back of Naruto's neck. He shuddered at the steady rhythm against his skin.

"No. You look nothing like him." Naruto murmured, voice distant. His mind was still scrambling for something coherent, something that made all of this logical and right.

"Liar." Sasuke's smirk was sad. "We both take after father."

"You are _nothing _like Itachi." Naruto whispered. Sasuke's eyes softened and he loosened his grip on Naruto's hair, his hand falling to rest on the arm of the chair.

"You should get to bed. You have school tomorrow." Naruto's heart was pounding and he couldn't help but think how ridiculous it was that he could still react this strongly, still feel this helplessly, after so many years. He was still so vulnerable, even after everything. Sasuke's hand pressed against the center of his chest, holding him in place. Naruto's frown bordered on a pout. He was getting sluggishly tired.

"Do you still dream of him?" Sasuke murmured, letting his breath fan across the blond's neck. "You used to call out his name in your sleep, you know." Naruto looked away, his eyes growing a deep blue that Sasuke had come to associate with regret. "What is he doing to you, in those dreams? What is he doing that makes you say his name like that? So soft and…._breathy." _Sasuke asked softly, brushing his fingers against Naruto's arm. Naruto flushed and jerked away. Their bodies, however, remained perilously close together.

"You're going to be exhausted. You need sleep." Naruto could tell by Sasuke's thoughtful expression that he wasn't listening. His lips were pursed tightly and his eyes stared away, into the distance, contemplating, considering. A shiver tingled up Naruto's spine when he tried to think about where Sasuke's mind was right now. If there was any logic to the world anymore he'd be thinking about how wrong this was, and how Naruto dreaming of his bastard of a brother clearly meant that Naruto was sick and he should have nothing to do with him. Did he know that Naruto wanted him? Did he know Naruto had enjoyed being kissed by him? Naruto shuddered and tried to summon the slick, bile taste of moral illness that he knew he should be feeling right now. Nothing. Nothing but the frustratingly appealing awareness of Sasuke's fingers resting on his arm.

"Naruto…" Sasuke's voice had a new tone in it, rough and hot. Naruto didn't like how it made him flush to hear it."Let me taste you."

And just like that, Naruto's mind caught up.

"What!?!" The young Uchiha could already hear the answer in Naruto's voice, stunned and panicky. So he decided not to wait for an actual answer. He growled, pushing Naruto back until the blond rammed snuggly against the chair and crushing their bodies together, basically straddling him. Sasuke felt a rush of feral excitement at the way their chests locked.

"I couldn't stand it, that time I heard you. The way you said his name, the way you wanted him. He's gone, the bastard, but it doesn't matter because he never belonged here, between us." Sasuke ground his hips down to emphasize the importance of their closeness. Naruto flushed, tearing his eyes away. His hands, still gripping the sides of the chair, were getting slick and shaking. "You say I don't look like him? Prove it. I want to hear you say _my _name." Before Naruto could comprehend what the dark haired boy meant, Sasuke was back on the ground, on his knees. Naruto's blue eyes widened with shock and he lurched back, causing the chair to rock on its back legs slightly. Sasuke's hands slammed it back into place.

Sasuke pressed his palms into Naruto's thighs, sliding them up the inside curves of Naruto's legs and around to grip his hips. Naruto was nearly panting, his body reacting to the sensations in a way he knew it shouldn't, but was beginning to have trouble remembering why.

"What are you….Hey!" Naruto yelped, as Sasuke's hands gripped the waistline of his loose boxers and began to slide them down his narrow hips. Naruto vaguely wished he slept in pajamas or something that would provide more concealment right about now. "What the hell, Sasuke!" It probably would have sounded more intimidating if he could breathe evenly. "Stop it!"

"No." Sasuke growled back. Naruto's hands gripped his hair, pulling slightly. Sasuke ignored it, pulling Naruto's boxers down, past his knees and then letting them slide to the floor. Cold air brushed against Naruto's skin and he panicked. Sasuke's harsh grip on his thighs kept him from bolting. "Tell me I don't look like him. Tell me it while I suck you off." Naruto let out a shuddered gasp when one of Sasuke's hands slid off his thigh and onto much more sensitive skin. Naruto felt hot and fuzzy, and he was surprised at how hot his face was when all his blood was rushing south….

"T-this is wrong. You don't..ngn…you don't know what you're doing!" Naruto forced out, through gritted teeth. Sasuke had his fingers wrapped around his growing erection, unmoving but firm.

"I'm not a child. I know _exactly _what I'm doing." Sasuke returned, voice suggestively low. He moved his hand, starting slow. Naruto stared at him, face mixed with confusion, need, and guilt.

"You-you're so young…" Naruto whispered, closing his eyes and doubling over slightly as Sasuke's fingers picked up speed. "A-and...and you're his _brotherrr.._ngh" Naruto whimpered, and Sasuke squeezed him harshly.

"I don't care about him anymore. He left. You're mine now." Naruto's eyelids flickered, and his mouth opened to reply.

"Sas…Ahh! Mmmmm…." Whatever the blond had been about to say vanished into a collection of raspy moans when Sasuke hand slid to the base and he covered the tip of Naruto's cock with his mouth. Naruto slammed back against the chair, head tilting upwards to expose the long expanse of his neck. His fingers dug into Sasuke's hair. "Nnn…no….S-stop…Ngh!" Sasuke's tongue worked down his length, drawing lines with the tip, then pressing firmly. Naruto shuddered.

"Come on, usuratonkachi." Sasuke growled with mock sweetness, releasing Naruto from his mouth briefly, causing the blond to whimper with loss. "Tell me I don't look like him." Sasuke's mouth was instantly back on him again, this time sucking as his tongue worked. Naruto's hips jutted forward uncontrollably, and the blond felt a roll of self disgust hit him in the gut.

He was thrusting into the mouth of the sixteen year old brother of his ex-boyfriend.

"What's wrong? Having trouble?" Sasuke's voice was taunting, yet needy. It made the most incredible, uncomfortable, intense feelings explode through Naruto's body. The blond bent forward slightly again, blue eyes half closed and staring. Sasuke moaned, and hummed, sending tremors through Naruto's erection.

"S-s……Mmmm…." Naruto moaned with appreciation, feeling himself peaking uncontrollably. His lack of self-restraint was almost embarrassing. Sasuke's hand continued to work at his base as his mouth encouraged his shaft. The blond was close. "I…I can't…Ss…Sas…"

Sasuke arched his tongue, and drew his teeth gently across Naruto's length. The blond's eyes shot open wide, and he gave a gurgled cry. It was all over, so quickly.

"Sasuke!" His voice was hoarse and sharp, and he came hard into Sasuke's mouth. The Uchiha swallowed quickly, before drawing back to release Naruto from his mouth. The blond slid down the chair and onto the floor, beside Sasuke. Sasuke, the bastard, was smirking, hands resting on Naruto's thighs, kneeling between the blonds sprawled legs.

"That sounded _much _better." Sasuke said breathlessly, pressing his hot forehead against the curve of Naruto's shoulder. "By the way, I think I love you."

Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's back, pulling the younger man against him, burying his nose in damp black hair.

They laid like that for a long time, until both of their hearts stopped pounding, and then they went to bed- their own beds. But not before Naruto kissed Sasuke, the first time Naruto kissed Sasuke, and not before Sasuke smiled in a way that made Naruto feel like maybe he hadn't just done the most fucked up thing possible.

Of course, whether or not he felt that way when he woke up tomorrow was an entirely different story.

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Author's notes

So I've set a self-goal to make my next story the best I can possibly make it. Mostly because I've gotten so disappointed in this one (Sorry, sorry!) that it has made me want to improve. So I decided my first step would be intense brainstorming. Usually I skim through that step and figure I'll work it out as I go. No more! I already have six pages of plot notes for my next story and I'm not even done. Hopefully the next time around I'll be able to keep it together!

Anywho, I debated on this chapter for a while. It's a risk I took. Whether or not it worked will probably depend on the next chapter. We'll see.

Besides that, hope everyone is surviving winter (for those of you somewhere warm, shush! I'm miserable enough as it is!)

AthenaAlpha


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